


so you brought out the best of me; a part of me i’ve never seen

by serenesapphic



Category: Chicago Fire, Chicago Med, Chicago PD (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - High School, F/F, F/M, Friends to Lovers, Have fun lol, Linstead, Softness, Stellaride, dawsey, slowburn
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-04-21
Updated: 2020-10-08
Packaged: 2021-03-02 02:27:20
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 14
Words: 107,933
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23777590
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/serenesapphic/pseuds/serenesapphic
Summary: gabby dawson and stella kidd have been friends for as long as they can remember; but their friendship is about to get even stronger when stella transfers to lincoln park high school.  now juniors together at the same school, the girls embark on a year to remember.
Relationships: Jay Halstead/Erin Lindsay, Leslie Shay/ April Sexton, Matthew Casey/Gabriela Dawson, Stella Kidd/Kelly Severide
Comments: 29
Kudos: 49





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> hi! i'm back with a completely different type of fic that i hope you all will love. this one will focus mainly on dawsey and stellaride, but shapril and linstead will definitely be established couples throughout. there's also strong kiddson, shawson, and shevasey friendships in this! basically every one chicago character will make an appearance at some point but i didn't want to be misleading and tag them all considering many won't play a large role. i wrote this entirely with my friend shelby (co-author) and we honestly are already in love with it. this will definitely be a story to remember and i hope you all enjoy! also, this same fic will be posted on FF under shelby's username @/peytfan4ever. thanks so much for reading <3 (my twitter is @sophsmayo and shelby's is @shelbersmarie_ if anyone wants to reach out!)

_ Sapphire waves crashed onto the shore, one after the next. The sky was a dusty blue, not quite sunrise yet. Grainy sand and open waters spanned as far as Stella could see, and she sighed in an unexplainable comfort. No one else sat on the beach, not even a seagull flew near. She was alone, finally. Stella sat up slightly from where she lay flat on the ground, running the sand through her fingers. Smiling, she looked around at the beauty surrounding her until a figure fell into her gaze. Someone was walking towards her, someone tall and- _

“Ms. Kidd? Is there a Stella Kidd here?”

“Hm? Yes, present! Sorry.” Stella says hurriedly, torn between being annoyed that her daydream had been cut short and embarrassed she hadn’t been paying attention. The teacher gives her a small smile and continues down the attendance list. Stella sits back in her chair, analyzing the book posters displayed on the walls of the classroom. They range from Othello to Pride and Prejudice, and Stella begins to wonder what kind of year she’s getting herself into. 

Finally, attendance ends and the new school year officially begins. 

Though for Stella Kidd, this is far more than just a new school year. It's a new school with new friends to make, new teachers to impress, and a new beginning entirely.

A new beginning that she is determined to make the most of.

“Well, hello everyone. I’m Mrs. Boden. Welcome to your first class as a junior! First things first, is there anyone’s name I didn’t call?”

A hand in the front row rises hesitantly, and Stella recognizes the back of his head as the student who’d run around the building frantically this morning looking for the classroom with the numbers to match the ones on his schedule. Guess he never found it.

“I’m Peter Mills, ma’am? I had a lot of trouble finding the right room this morning, sorry.”

“That’s alright, sweetie. Why don’t you take your schedule to the front office and Ms. Wilson will help you out,” Mrs. Boden responds with a smile. 

Mr. Boden has a welcoming presence; I have a feeling I’m going to enjoy her class.

Peter Mills nods quietly, collects his things, and all but runs from the room.

“Oh, thank God,” Stella hears her best friend mumble from the seat next to her, clearly pleased that the boy in question was leaving the class.

Gabby looks up from her phone for the first time since they arrived, and Stella notices with confusion.

“We don’t like Peter Mills?” she asks quietly.

“Mmmm, we’re annoyed by Peter Mills. He’s the one that’s been obsessed with me since freshman year, and the whole puppy dog routine gets old pretty fast,” Gabby says at the same low volume.

Stella nods, soaking in new information every opportunity she got.

“Anyone else?” the teacher asks. To which no one responds.

“Okay! This is first period English III. I’m really looking forward to getting to know all of you through the assignments this year! I know today is probably going to be overwhelming for many of you, so I won’t do any icebreakers or personal introductions… yet. With that said, this is very much a safe space and I love group projects, so expect to know each other well fairly soon.”

Stella practically hears Gabby roll her eyes. She, on the other hand, is petrified. Fortunately, for the rest of the class, Ms. Boden just went over the assignments they would complete throughout the school year.

Kelly Severide sits beside his best friend Matt Casey four rows back, both of them looking over the lengthy syllabus that Mrs. Boden passed out. 

As she turns back to her computer to go over notes, Kelly focuses back on his best friend and the conversation they’d been having before the bell rang. 

“So, next Friday is our first game, and we need to really work on that passing blitz with Will during practice before we run it in the game.”

Matt nods, still looking over what assignments to expect in the year to come. “Yeah, I talked to coach, we’ll run it again at practice tonight. This is our year, Sev, I can feel it.”

This year they’re juniors, more importantly starters on the football team, and Matt is a promising quarterback. With Kelly as his main man on the field the two are an unstoppable force with the championship already in mind before the year has even officially started. 

“That’s what I like to hear.” Kelly laughs, patting Matt on the shoulder excitedly. 

Matt looks up, his eyes focusing on the girl sat a few seats ahead of him, her head rests in her hand as she looked ahead, her short brown hair the only part of her he could see. 

Kelly notices his glance, a smirk rising on his lips. “You know, I heard she’s single again?”

Matt’s eyes snap to him. “What are you talking about?”

“Oh please, I know you were staring at Dawson.” 

“I wasn’t.” The blond says, his defenses rising. 

Rolling his eyes Kelly holds his hands up in defense. “Whatever you say, Case. Your secret is safe with me.”

“Shut up.” He simply replies, sparing one last glance to the girl in question before returning to the paper in front of him.

The bell rings soon enough, and Stella waits for Gabby to pick up her bag for them to leave. They make their way out of the classroom and Stella pulls out her phone to check the online version of their class schedule as they walk down the hallway. She feels an arm hook through hers as Gabby speaks.

“What’s up with you, girl? You’ve barely said a word since we got here.”

“Nothing! I’m good. Just a bit overwhelmed I think. There’s a lot of people here. A lot more than I’m used to.”

“Yeah, it’s no Lakewood Prep, but it’s not as big as you think. You’ll get used to it, trust me. What’s your next class?”

“Uh, history.”

“Shit, I have science. Here, take those steps at the end of the hall and turn right. Follow the numbers and you’ll get there.” They stop abruptly. “Unfortunately, this is my stop,” she says, pointing to the classroom they stood in front of.

Stella immediately begins biting her nails as Gabby unhooked their arms. She was going to be alone in a new place with no knowledge of anything or anyone outside of her best friend. The desperation to avoid screwing things up again clouds her mind, making Stella beyond nervous.

Gabby notices, like she always does, and calmly lowers Stella’s hand.

“You got this, El. Make this school your bitch.” She winks at her and enters the classroom as Stella tries to take her words to heart. 

Thankfully, she finds the class easily and a second before the bell rings. The desks are organized in pairs and only one isn’t full. A girl with chin-length, chestnut-colored hair occupies the seat beside the empty one and Stella stands next to it awkwardly, unsure of how to phrase her request.

“This seat’s open,” the girl says after seeing Stella.

The girl’s voice immediately caught her attention. It was raspy and low and quite frankly, hot. 

She sits down and returns the smile the girl with the pretty hair and intriguing voice offers her. 

Stella hadn’t even noticed there was no teacher present until an older man walked into the room moments later.

“I’m Mr. McHolland! This is US History in Room 223, so if that’s not what it says on your schedule, you’re in the wrong class.” 

Two students walk out this time.

“Alright! Now that the dumb ones are gone,” a light laugh ripples throughout the class, “let’s do attendance.”

Stella waits patiently for her name, rehearsing all of the possible ways to say “Here” until he gets to her. Fortunately, she manages to say it normally, and the name right after hers happens to be her new desk partner.

“Erin Lindsay?” 

“Here,” Erin says, and Stella makes a mental note of her name so she can tell Gabby about it later.

This period goes almost identical to the last one and ends as soon as it begins. She and Erin make small talk about their mutual hatred of history and nervousness about starting the new school year. It goes smoother than Stella had anticipated.

Only one more class stands between her and lunch. And lunch means she’s back within her comfort zone, Gabby. She is determined to make it there without incident. She makes her way to the science hall, vaguely remembering Gabby’s rushed directions on how to get to each hall during the drive to school that morning.

She finds a seat in the back corner as the rest of the class files in. A few people catch her eye: a girl with sharp cheekbones and a wide smile walking side by side with a boy that had the most piercing blue eyes she’d ever seen, a cute, shorter girl with long, shiny, black hair that’s braided on one side, and a put-together blonde boy with a preppy haircut and an assertive walk. The blue-eyed boy stood out, though; he reminded her of the ocean. Gabby had failed to mention how many unbelievably attractive people attend Lincoln Park High School. Everyone seems to know who they want to sit next to, and Stella ends up without a lab partner. She doesn’t know whether to feel concerned or relieved.

Dr. Charles, the science teacher, has such a calming energy that Stella thinks she may actually make it through the class alone. Though she can’t help but notice the blonde girl and the boy she came in with cracking, what seemed to be inside, jokes the entire time; they seem connected in a way that holds Stella’s attention for nearly the whole period.

Soon enough, the lunch bell rings and she all but sprints to the cafeteria. After grabbing what barely resembles actual meat in the form of a hamburger and french fries from the line, she scours the room for her friend.

“EL!” The call comes from the opposite side of the insanely large room and Stella quickly makes her way over.

“You survived!” Gabby says feigning excitement as she makes room on the bench for her friend.

“Yes, I did. And as a matter of fact, I made a new best friend,” she says with conviction.

“Impossible. Who?” Gabby responds, but Stella notices her eyes haven’t left the double doors that lead into the cafeteria.

“Well, her name was Erin, and I-” Stella suddenly becomes aware of the two people sitting directly across from them. She recognizes one as the female half of the couple from science, but she’s never seen the girl that sat next to her. She quite literally has the face of a model and Stella has to avoid looking directly into her dark brown eyes. The girls hold hands over the table, and are paying absolutely no attention to Gabby and Stella during their hushed conversation. Gabby finally follows her gaze and understands, realizing she’d forgotten to make introductions.

“Shay,” she says at a volume that obviously isn’t loud enough to catch either of their attention. “Hey, lovebirds! Can you stop whispering and greet our guest, please?”

The blonde one turns to Stella first and holds out her right hand.

“Leslie Shay. Nice to meet you.”

Stella shakes it and tries to hide her confusion.

“And I’m April Sexton, Leslie’s girlfriend.” The second girl settles for a wave.

“But, I thought-”

“Well, duh,” Gabby says before Stella can respond, “If you sat any closer to Shay you’d be giving her a lap dance.” She sticks her tongue out at her friend and Stella laughs.

She also exhales for what feels like the first time that day. If Leslie and April can be so open about their relationship, maybe this place won’t be as scary as she thought.

“Well, hey, I’m Stella. I’m new here but I’ve known Gabby since diapers basically and she’s talked about both of you.”

“All lies,” April says with a genuine smile, and Stella can’t help but smile back. She looks at Gabby, assuming she’s going to butt in again, but her attention is entirely focused on the doors.

“Oh, of course,” Stella responds. In reality, she’d been jealous of Leslie for a while. A little bit into freshman year, Gabby began telling story after story about the things she and her new friend Leslie had done that day. Naturally, Stella felt a little replaced since school was the one thing separating her and her best friend. After a bit, Gabby noticed and reassured Stella that she would always be her number one, and Stella moved on. April, though, she’d heard nothing about. Stella briefly wonders why Gabby wouldn’t mention that Shay had a girlfriend, especially to her. She turns to ask but finds her friend is still preoccupied with her staring contest with the entrance to the lunch room.

“Dawson,” Shay says suddenly, and Gabby turns to her, “There’s a football lunch today. Kelly and Matt aren’t coming.” 

Stella swears she sees Gabby’s shoulders slump a little before she says, “I don’t know what you're talking about. I wasn’t looking for them.”

“You’re right.”

“I know.” Gabby shoots back quickly.

“You weren’t looking for  _ them _ , you were looking for _ Matt _ ,” Leslie says slyly.

“I was not!” Gabby reaches across the table to punch Shay in the arm. “Shut up.”

The name sounded familiar. “Matt… Wait, Matt Casey?” Stella asks.

“Yeah, why?” Leslie responds immediately, her brows furrowed in confusion.

Stella laughs. “So that’s the famous Matt you bring up every time we talk. He’s in my science class, you know, and even cuter than you described,” she says to her friend.

Gabby squints at her with a threat on her lips.

“I’d back off if I were you, Stella. Gabby’s had Matt claimed since at least sophomore year.” Leslie hides behind April after her risky statement, unsure of what her reaction will be.

“I’m gonna kill you.”

“Hey, be nice. Both of you,” April says.

“Yeah, Gabby, be nice,” Shay says mockingly, kissing April on the cheek.

Stella laughs and gives Gabby a look that clearly says  _ we’re talking about this tonight. _

“So, about this Erin girl...” Gabby begins.

Just then, ringing resounds throughout the building and Stella puts on a smug grin.

“Saved by the bell.”

“We are  _ so _ not done with this conversation, Stella Kidd.” Gabby hollers after her as she gets her own things together to head to class. Her long haired friend only turning to wave as she scurries away. 

Three hours and a car ride later, Stella lays on Gabby’s bed playing a game on her phone and waiting for her counterpart to come out of the bathroom.

“Gabby!” she yells with urgency.

“What?!”

“I’m bored.”

Gabby scoffs, finally leaving the adjoining bathroom in her room. She sits next to Stella on the bedspread, looking down at her.

“Ok bored, let’s talk about this Erin chick,” Gabby says with a supposedly innocent smile.

“Suddenly, I can entertain myself,” Stella responds, resuming her game.

“Sure.” Gabby snatches the phone and holds it off the edge of the bed.

“Hey!” Stella reaches over her but misses slightly and ends up grabbing at air.

Gabby drops the phone onto her rug, confident the landing is soft enough to avoid cracks.

“Oops. Tell me about her,” she demands.

“Fine. She’s this girl in my history class.”

Gabby nods along, already intrigued. “Continue.”

“Well, she has hair the color of, like, honey roasted almonds? Her eyes were this earthy shade of green-”

“There it is,” Gabby interjects, laying down next to Stella.

“What? There what is?” She asks in confusion.

“It’s always the eyes with you. There’s like three eye colors someone can have and you always manage to give it a million different descriptions. They’re like the things you care most about, even if the rest of the person’s face is far more appealing.”

“I dunno, they’re just interesting to me. You can look in someone’s eyes and see their whole world. What makes them sad, happy, angry, hurt. If they’re intentions are good or not. What they really want…” Stella trails off, suddenly thinking of the boy from her chemistry class who’s remarkably blue eyes had reminded her of the ocean.. His eyes stuck with her all day, but she isn’t sure why.

“Ok Shakespeare. Go on. She sounds hot.” Gabby’s words cut her thoughts of the blue eyed boy short and brought her back to their current conversation.

“She was. Short, though, so that was a turn off.” She teases.

Gabby elbows Stella in the side for the obvious dig. 

“Ow! Fuck you.”

“When and where?” Gabby asks, a wicked smirk on her lips.

Stella shakes her head at her. “Anyways, the first thing you notice about her is her voice. It’s deep and raspy and-”

“Wait.”

“Can I finish please.” Stella asks with exasperation.

“No. Erin Lindsay?” She questions.

“I think so, why?”

Gabby laughs, “She dated Kelly freshman year. Well, dating’s a strong word but they for sure messed around. But even if they didn’t, she’s definitely straight.”

“Really? That sucks.”

“Tell me about it.”

“Who’s Kelly?”

“Shay’s best friend. Well, her other one. They’ve been close since middle school and now they’re inseparable.”

“Blue eyes? Dark brown hair?” Stella asks, realizing her previous mistake had at least been based in logic.

“Yup.”

“I saw him and Leslie today, thought they were dating.”

“Oh yeah, you wouldn’t believe how much they get that, despite the fact that Shay made sure the entire school knew she was a lesbian from the moment she arrived. It used to really get under April’s skin.”

“Interesting. Now, tell me more about this Matt character.”

“Who?”

“Nice try. You’ve been talking about him since last year. I knew you liked him.”

“I never said I liked him!”

“You didn’t have to.”

Gabby narrows her eyes at her friend, “I am so not talking about this; it’s nothing.”

“Gabby, it’s clearly not. Come on, talk to me.” Stella prods. 

Letting out a heavy sigh, Gabby finally concedes. “Matt is a really great guy. He is sweet and charming, and he just cares so much about the people around him,” She gushes. 

Stella smiles. “He sounds really great, Gabs.” 

“He is…” She trails off for a moment. “Matt and I, we’ve always had this… thing. I don’t know how to describe it, but it’s just kind of always been there.”

“So he likes you too?” Stella asks. 

Gabby shrugs. “I don’t know, honestly. I can never figure him out, but usually when I am single he is taken and vice versa. I like him, I do. He’s a great friend, I just don’t know that we will ever be more.”

Stella takes in her friend, seeing the conflicting emotions playing out on her face. She had never seen Gabby so unsure of herself and her feelings. Gabby is headstrong, confident, and she very rarely doubs herself this much. 

Reaching across, she rests a comforting hand on top of Gabby’s, forcing her eyes to meet hers. “Look, I don't know, Matt. But I know you, Ella, and if he doesn’t like you then not only is he crazy, but he’s blind too.” Stella finished with a wink causing Gabby to laugh, exactly the reaction she was looking for. 

“Thanks, El.” They share a smile, a beat of silence passing before Gabby shakes off the conversation. “Anyways… minus meeting hot girl Erin, any other exciting things happen on your first day?”

“Not really, no. But I do think I’m gonna like it here.” 

Gabby nods. “Of course you will. This year is going to be great. I promise.”

“I’m holding you to that.”

“Good. You know I didn’t see your name on the sign up sheet for cheer,” Gabby prompts, earning an eye roll from Stella. “Come on. Friday is the last day to join.” Gabby gives her best puppy dog eyes and pouty lip. “Please, El.”

“No way in hell.” 

“It will be fun, please, please, please.” Gabby begs. 

Stella shakes her head. “I will think about it, okay. Just wipe that look off your face.”

Gabby claps happily. “Fine, I will take that as progress for now.”

They both settle back onto the bed, Gabby pulling her book back out to work on the science homework she had yet to finish. 

There was silence between them for nearly an hour while they both finished up the last of their homework for the day, neither expecting to have as much as they did with it being the first day, but that was the  _ joy  _ of being upperclassmen now. 

Stella fiddles with her pencil as she waits for Gabby to finish writing in her notebook. “So, at lunch today…” She trails off, Gabby simply raises a brow, waiting for her to continue. “April and Leslie. How come you never told me about them? I mean you’ve talked about Shay a lot, but…”

Stella stops talking again, and Gabby sighs, closing her book and giving her friend her full attention. She knew these questions were coming. Truthfully, she had been expecting them ever since the look Stella gave her at lunch when she found out about the couple. 

Gnawing on her bottom lip, Gabby collects her thoughts. “Listen, I wasn’t trying to keep a secret from you or anything. I just wasn’t sure how you would react to it is all.” Stella nods her head in understanding. “They got together officially at the end of last year when everything was happening for you at Lakewood.” 

Gabby doesn’t miss the way her best friend tenses at those words. The reminder of all she had been through at her previous school was still a fresh wound for both of them. A heavy silence settled in the air that made Gabby want to run as far away as possible. 

“El,” She says at nearly a whisper. Stella brings her hand to her mouth instinctually, and starts chewing nervously on her nails. The anxiety of that situation filling her with guilt yet again. “I am so, so sorry. You know I regret what happened more than anything… I hate that you-”

“It’s fine, Ella.” Stella cuts her off, trying to give her a reassuring smile. “Really. You know I forgave you for all of that a long time ago. It wasn’t your fault, stop blaming yourself.”

Gabby tucks her hair behind her ear as she nods, taking in her best friends words. This wasn’t the first time this conversation had taken place, but each time Gabby felt the same regret and shame. 

Shaking off those feelings the best she could, she started talking again. “Anyways… I, uh, I wasn’t trying to hide it or anything. I just didn’t know how you would take the news of some happy gay couple finally getting together with everything you were going through. So, I never mentioned it.”

The unspoken words hanging in the air cast a dark cloud over the girls; Gabby didn’t want to worsen a situation she had felt she created to begin with. 

“Gabby, it’s okay. Really. I’m happy for Shay and April. They seem really great… and besides, it gives me some hope. Maybe, if they can be so blissfully happy and open at your school then anyone can.” Stella tells her optimistically. 

Gabby can’t help but smile. “You’re right, Lincoln Park has always been pretty open to all things, so that is definitely a positive. Trust me, if you report any issues at all on that front, Shay will be unapologetic in beating someone up for you.”

Stella threw her head back in laughter, Gabby joining along even though she knew her words to be true. 

“Yeah, I definitely got the vibe today that Shay doesn’t put up with any bullshit.”

“Ain’t that the truth.” Gabby chuckled before climbing off the bed and putting her books into her bag by her dresser, finally finishing all the work she had to do. 

Stella takes that as her cue to go and start packing up as well, her own work finished nearly an hour ago but she had hung around to talk with Gabby longer. 

“El, you don’t have to go.”

Stella waved her off. “No, it’s fine. I am pretty beat after today. Plus, I’ll see you tomorrow.” She said, a goofy grin covering both of their faces at the statement. They had been friends for most of their lives, but this was the first time they had ever been at the same school together and both were near giddy with excitement at the prospect. 

They both tangled their arms around each other in a tight hug. Stella’s near six foot form towering over her much shorter friend. 

Pulling back, Stella pulled her bag over her shoulder and opened up Gabby’s bedroom window, her friend shaking her head at her as she did so. “ You know my parents saw us come in, you can use the door.” She deadpans. 

Ignoring her words Stella drops her bag onto the ground outside and carefully climbs out. “My turn to drive tomorrow. See you in the morning, Ella.”

With those parting words Stella is climbing out the window with ease and strutting across the lawn to her own home next door. 

Climbing into bed that night after getting her bag and clothes ready ,Stella lets out a sigh she’d been holding in all day. The nerves she had carried over the entire summer while she waited for this day were still there, but had lessened significantly. 

For the first time in a long time she was feeling optimistic and excited to get to school tomorrow. 

That night, she dreamed of a perfect beach and a boy with eyes the color of the ocean.

  
  
  
  
  
  



	2. chapter two

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> stella and kelly finally meet, and matt and gabby see each other for the first time this school year. some light is shed on the interesting dynamic between gabby and kelly while stella begins to settle into the group.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> we're back with a new chapter! it looks like wednesday is going to be our upload day and you can expect weekly updates. this is still the introduction phase of the fic but i promise things will pick up very soon ;) again, shelby and i are super excited for this and we already have so much of it planned out. this same fic will be posted on FF under shelby's username @/peytfan4ever. thanks so much for reading <3 (my twitter is @/sophsmayo and shelby's is @/shelbersmarie_ if anyone wants to reach out!)

The energetic beat of “Girls Just Wanna Have Fun” blasts from the interior of Stella’s black Jeep as she and Gabby sing along loudly, their arms hanging from the permanently rolled-down windows. Sunlight shines down on them brighter than it had for days, and the smiles on the girls’ faces stretch a mile wide. Stella lowers the volume as they pull into their school’s parking lot, much to her passenger’s dismay. She ignores her groans and parks, swinging her book bag over her shoulder and waiting by the car for her friend. They only get about five feet away before Gabby realizes she forgot her phone and goes back to get it. Stella keeps walking, moving slowly so she does not get too far ahead of her friend, her eyes glued to her phone as she scrolls through her feed.

She barely has time to look up from the screen before a flash of silver impedes her peripheral vision, resulting in a fairly high-pitched scream from her when she realizes what is happening. Someone was adjusting their parking and hadn’t seen her. Thankfully, Stella remained unscathed as they came to an abrupt stop, but she is definitely pissed. The driver of the truck steps out immediately, an apology on his lips.

“Hey, are you-” he starts, but is cut off immediately. 

“What the hell is wrong with you?! You almost hit me!” Stella exclaims, running on adrenaline and fear.

The driver, clearly taken aback by her tone, switches gears, his brows shooting up in confusion and shock.

“Do I even know you?” he asks.

Stella scoffs at him and opens her mouth to rip into him when Gabby approaches, clearly having seen the scene take place.

“Kelly?! What the hell? Did you suddenly go blind?” she yells, quickly invading his personal space.

“Gabby, chill out. She’s fine. You’re fine, right?” Kelly turns to Stella, who recently finds herself dumbstruck after remembering who Kelly is. The boy with the blue eyes… the eyes that she had fallen asleep thinking about last night. Of course.

“El, you okay?” Gabby asks, her tone dropping its edge as it’s directed to Stella when she doesn’t respond.

“Uh, yeah, I’m good. It’s cool Gabby,” Stella says hesitantly, unsure of why she feels the need to defend the guy she just met.

Gabby simply nods, sparing her one last concerned glance before her eyes shoot daggers back to the tall brunette man. 

“I’d say I’m shocked, but not much surprises me with you anymore,” Gabby spat.

“Cut me a break, Dawson. Your girl was the one staring at her phone. I was just parking,” Kelly fires back.

“You’re the one in the car, asshole, watch out next time! Quick question, why are you such an idiot?”

“I don’t know, why are you such a brat?”

“A brat who can drive,” she shoots back; Kelly feigns a dry laugh. “Come on Stella,” Gabby continues, practically dragging a frozen Stella away from the scene of the crime. 

“Drama queen,” Kelly mumbles as they walk off.

“Jackass!” Gabby yells back.

What a nice start to the morning, Stella thinks.

Gabby is still fuming beside her as they head into the school and straight for their lockers, both of them unloading a few books in silence. Stella hears Gabby sigh beside her and looks over to see her running her palm over her head before taking another deep breath. Stella realizes she is trying to calm down. 

“You sure you’re okay?” Gabby asks quietly. 

Kidd is quick to nod. “I am, Gabs. It was nothing really.” She tries to reassure her, noticing now that her friend seems to be the one more worked up than she was. 

Gabby nods, going back to the task at hand. A moment later she shuts and locks her locker. Slinging her bag over her shoulder, she goes to move forward to their shared first period, but Stella grabs her arm stopping her. 

“Are you sure  _ you’re _ okay?” She asks pointedly. 

Gabby huffs, hooking her arm through Stella’s and moving them down the hall as she mumbles an, “I’m fine.”

Something won’t allow Stella to let it go, her curiosity getting the better of her as they approach the classroom door for English. 

“What is your deal with him anyways?” Stella asks as nonchalantly as she can, Gabby raising a brow in clear question. “With that guy, Kelly? You just seem to really hate him.” She fills in. 

They move through the door, separating their arms as they move to the same table they occupied the day before. 

“You hit the nail on the head, El. I  _ do _ hate him. He’s a jackass.” She says, her voice going back to holding the same discontent as she speaks of him as it did when she was speaking to him. 

Stella shakes her head, taking her seat beside Gabby and pulling out her notebook and pencil while Gabby settles down and sips at her coffee she had brought and looks at her phone, clearly having no interest in preparing for this class or continuing the conversation about the boy Stella couldn’t get her mind off of. 

“Okay, but  _ why _ do we hate him?” She pushes. 

Gabby sets her phone down, turning to her with intrigue, “Why are you so interested in this?” 

Stella stutters for only a moment before shooting her friend her own glare. “Why are you so hell bent on not telling me the story?” She retorts. 

Gabby’s eyes move to the movement at the door seeing the man in question walk through and head to their aisle to go to his spot a few rows back. Gabby barely looks her friend's way as she says her next words, her eyes staying locked on Kelly. 

“Severide is a jackass who likes to stab his friends in the back and talk shit about them. That’s all you need to know about him.” She glares. 

Kelly rolls his eyes on the way by, letting out a scoff but ignoring her words as he takes his seat beside Casey.

The blond raises his brow at him as he settles down in the chair just as the bell rings. “Pissing Dawson off nice and early this morning I see.” He comments barely looking up from the book infront of him. 

Kelly glares at him, pulling his book out and leveling his eyes on Mrs. Boden as she gets up from her desk to start the day. 

“Shut up, Case.” Kelly grumbles in annoyance. 

“Good morning, juniors.” Mrs. Boden greets, a large smile covering her face as she steps in front of the class, receiving a scattered chorus of greetings in return. “So, we went over the syllabus yesterday. You all know there are a couple group projects coming up and we are going to get started on one of them today. The first step to that is to get you set up with your partners.” 

Mrs. Boden moves back to her desk, grabbing a piece of paper. “Now, to solve any issues I have already chosen your partners for this semester, and  _ no, _ you are not allowed to switch.” She says pointedly, earning a few groans. 

Beside Stella, Gabby sits with her arms crossed. “Boy, this ought to be good.” She mumbles, listening as a few names are read. Gabby is feeling optimistic when her and Stella were two of the last four names left… That is until Mrs. Boden reads her final two pairings. 

“Stella Kidd you will be with Kelly Severide and Matthew Casey you will be partnered with Gabriela Dawson. Now, I want you guys to take this period to make a final decision on what famous romance novel you are reading for this project. I don’t want doubles, so the list on the board will serve as first come first serve. Write your book choice up here by the final bell and I will make sure it is sitting at your desk tomorrow morning.” Mrs. Boden looks around, noting some excited faces, and some less than enthusiastic.

“Alright, that’s all I have for now, get with your partners and get working.” She tells them, releasing them all to start moving from their seats.

Stella sits there nearly frozen in shock from who her new partner is.

“Well, you were so curious about him; now you get to hear  _ his _ side of the story.” Gabby mumbles sassily leaning into her friend's side to whisper the words with a smirk plastered on her face. 

She gets up from her seat, squeezing Stella’s shoulder before moving to the back of the room to her assigned partner, Matt Casey. She shoots Kelly a fresh glare as he steps past her to take up the seat she has just vacated; their situation from this morning is still fresh in her mind and making her blood boil.

For as angry as she is, it all melts away as she approaches the back table and bright blue eyes are staring up at her. She can’t help the shy smile that falls onto her lips or the instinctive habit to tuck her short curls behind her ear as she takes him in. 

Matt Casey has bright blue eyes and short blond hair that is nearly buzzed at the sides while the top is longer and styled back. He has on a blue button up shirt, his letterman jacket thrown over the back of his chair and a pair of jeans. His teeth are nearly perfect; Gabby remembers a time in middle school when braces covered his mouth and acne marred his face. Even then, he was one of the sweetest boys she had known. 

He had always been there, right in front of her all along, but it was only in the last couple years she really started noticing him. Really took a notice to how her heart sped up and skipped a beat when he was around. How she always looked for him in a crowd of their mutual friends. 

They had been friends in middle school. She, Matt and Kelly had all been close back then. She remembers that time in her life fondly. They had spent every day in school together. Now, not so much. Since starting high school the two had stayed friends; silent supporters of the other, but both too consumed in their own relationships to spend much time together outside of their friend group.

She isn’t sure exactly when the shift happened, when her thoughts of him turned from the sweet boy that she shared a few classes with and had mutual friends with to the boy she cares so much about and wants in her life forever. 

She shakes that thought away,  _ forever  _ may be a little too serious of a thing to think about a boy she had yet to say a word to this school year. 

Matt pulls the seat out beside him, giving her room to sit. “Hey, Gabby.” 

“Hey, Matt.” She tucks her hair behind her ears for the second time now since approaching him, the butterflies in her stomach felt like  _ birds _ just from being near him. “Thanks.” She mutters, setting her books down and taking a sip of the coffee she had in her mug from home. 

“How was your summer?” Matt asks, after a beat of silence. 

Gabby shifts in her seat, turning to face him more. Matt doesn't miss the way her shorts ride up to reveal more of her smooth caramel thigh, or how her crop top she had paired with them reveals some of her back as she leans forward in her seat. 

“It was good. Cheer camp. Spent some time with Antonio, which was great. Hung out with Shay and Stella, you know the usual.” Matt nods along, hung on her every word as he always had been. There is one thing he notices she didn’t mention about her summer, and it instantly is gaining his interest even further... Jay, the boyfriend she had for the last two years, is never mentioned. 

Jay and Gabby had dated on and off all of freshman and sophomore year. Matt had a thing for Gabby in middle school, but he was too nervous to ever ask her out back then. She was always the beautiful, sassy, girl that made his heart rate skyrocket. Then he met Hallie as a freshman and they had dated for a little over a year. He had been happy with her, but it wasn’t meant to be and they ended things early on last year. 

The point is, Gabby not mentioning Jay gives Matt hope that maybe Kelly had been right the day before, maybe Gabby is single once again. He knows that never means much with her; she and Jay are notorious for dating on and off. Anytime in the past he got hope and wanted to ask her out, she was always getting back with Jay soon after. Matt hopes that isn’t the case this time around. Still, he will remain optimistic, cautious, but optimistic. 

Matt realizes Gabby is still talking and tunes back in, catching on to the end of whatever she is saying. “...I think we should look at maybe doing The Great Gatsby or Gone With The Wind. What are you thinking?” 

Matt nods quickly. “I think that’s a good idea.” 

Gabby smiles, and Matt can’t help but return it as he looks into her deep brown eyes. 

Though Gabby had been unimpressed when Mrs. Boden let them know she had already picked their partners for this semester, meaning she wouldn’t get to be with Stella like she had wanted. She had to admit, spending her first semester starting off her first period by Matt’s side doesn’t sound so bad after all. 

While Gabby is excited for the prospect of spending so much time with her own partner, her best friend cannot share in that feeling… her nerves at an all time high. 

Kelly and Stella sit an awkwardly far distance apart, the small space that had previously been there when Gabby occupied the seat now much larger. The silence is near deafening at this point and it only furthers her nerves. Stella decides to break the ice, unable to take the silence anymore. 

“So, do you have any ideas?”

“For what,” Kelly responds dejectedly, his mind clearly elsewhere.

“For the book. For the project Mrs. Boden just assigned? Were you even listening?”

“Yeah. What do you think?” he sas, finally turning to face Stella and look her in the eye.

Just like before, she’s taken aback by the sharpness of his irises.

“Uh- I was thinking,” Suddenly all of her prior ideas have completely left her mind. “...maybe, um,” she continues to stutter.

Kelly raises his eyebrows expectantly.

“Pride and Prejudice?” she suggests finally. It was the first thing to pop into her mind.

Kelly leans back, seemingly considering her choice. Stella begins to panic, his silence making her question her own words.

“But you probably haven’t read that so, we could do um,” Stella tries desperately to think of a more recent novel, anything that he may relate to, but comes up blank, “to be honest I mainly read older bookd.”

“I’ve read it, Stella,” he says coolly, and she feels a chill go down her spine at her name coming out of his mouth. 

“Oh! Okay, cool.” she replies, unsure of how else to respond.

A silence falls over them again and Kelly pulls out his phone.

“So,” Kelly looks up at the sound of Stella’s voice, “You and Gabby.”

“Yeah?” he asks, his tone unidentifiable.

“What, um, what happened? She seems to have a real sour opinion of you.”

“And you don’t?” he responds.

“Not yet,” she says with a slight smirk.

“Well, uh, Gabby really hasn’t told you anything?” He questions unsurely, to which Stella simply shrugs, truly not knowing much of anything about the situation.

The brunette boy sighs, mulling over his words, “Gabby and I were pretty close in middle school. We kind of latched onto each other from the beginning because of how similar we were. We walked to classes together, ate lunch together, and told each other damn near everything. We were friends, for sure. But we kind of drifted apart freshman year, Gabby got a boyfriend, I joined football. You know, typical highschool stuff. I made some mistakes and cared too much about impressing the football guys when I shouldn’t have. It was all dumb, but, anyways… Gabby overheard some stuff and she’s hated me ever since. I’ve tried to talk to her, but it never got anywhere so I've given up on that. She is clearly happy to just keep on hating me,” he says. At first listen, he sounds unaffected, but Stella hears a bit of emotion in his voice towards the end, something like regret.

“Oh,” she says, unsure of what else to respond with. She isn’t sure what was actually said, but either way she knows how hard her friend can hold onto a grudge. 

“Why, what’d she tell you?” he asks, curious.

Just then, the bell rings signaling the end of class and Stella has never been more grateful to be able to avoid a question. She simply throws him a wry smile over her shoulder as she heads to the door and off to her next class.

After two more classes that fill up her second and third period, Gabby walks into the lunch room with her head down and her earphones in. The music playing loudly through the tiny speakers and drowning out the noises of the lunch room.

She looks around for her group of friends as she makes her way over to the line, smiling happily when she sees April and Stella already sitting together. 

She had been anxious for Stella, not wanting to leave her to eat alone on just her second day at her new school, but she is happy to see she and April warming up to each other since she had been late leaving her third period class. The lunch line is nearly empty by the time she gets in line so she receives her food rather quickly. 

The lasagna on her plate is one of her favorite school meals and she quickly goes to the salad bar for her side before pulling the ear phones from her ears and plucking them in her pocket as she approaches the table now housing Leslie, April and Stella. 

“Hey, Gabs.” Shay is the first to notice her and greet her. 

“Hey, guys.” She offers warmly, settling down beside Stella on the bench. 

Gabby meets Stella’s eyes, looking at her near expectantly, the long curly haired woman only raising her brow in question. 

Gabby sighs, “Oh come on, I haven’t seen you since first period. How was your english  _ partner _ ?” Gabby says pointedly, digging into her food while still staring at her friend. 

Stella rolls her eyes, “It was fine Gabs. He was fine.” She explains simply, their conversation now catching Shay and April’s attention as they listen in curiously. 

Gabby huffs, rolling her own eyes. “He is not fine.” She grumbles. 

“Okay, spill it. What’s got you two all up in arms?” Shay finally interjects, tired of being out of the loop. 

Gabby looks to Stella expectantly, but she offers no reply. Still unsure what the real story was behind her best friend and the blue eyed boy who seemed to have gotten on her bad side long before their near hit and run this morning. 

Brown eyes shoot back to Shay. “Your  _ other _ best friend nearly ran Stella down in the parking lot this morning.” 

Shay is already interjecting. “Oh boy, here we go.”

Gabby sends her a glare but continues on. “Don’t ‘here we go’ me, Leslie Shay. You  _ know _ how I feel about him.”

Shay only nods, feigning interest at this point. “Mhm. yes. And I also know he is sorry for what he did.” She tells her for the millionth time, though she knows it will make no difference. This was a regular thing between the two already. 

Stella watches on intrigued, still unsure what the story was, but all the more interested now. 

Gabby simply huffs, taking another bite of food. “And I have told you that it doesn’t mean shit unless he is actually going to own up to what he did and say it to  _ me _ , not  _ you _ .” 

Stella, having heard enough and still not getting any clearer information on what happened finally buts in. “Okay, okay. What actually happened with you two?” She asks, focusing in on her best friend. 

“What, he didn't give you his sordid side of the story?” She huffs, her full sass coming out around her mouth full of food. 

“Gabby.” Stella prompts. Her question now aimed more towards finding out what clearly upset her friend so much. Gabby is good at hiding most of her emotions with deflecting and sassiness, but Stella can see right through it, and under all that, Gabby’s clear discontent for the blue eyed boy that had peaked her interest went much deeper. It was clear that whatever Kelly Severide had done had hurt Gabby, and she used all of her anger at the situation to hide how much it really did cut her deep.

Gabby finally sighs, sparing a glance to Shay, one of the few people that knew the whole story, before looking over to her best friend. “Severide and I were friends in middle school. We grew up together. Kelly, Matt, Shay and I all became close, but Kelly and I especially were friends. Shay and Severide got closer, and Matt and I drifted apart a bit when we started freshman year. I started dating Jay. We dated on and off all of freshman year, and while Kelly and I weren’t super close anymore, I thought we were at least still friends.”

The short haired brunette trails off, silencing for a moment as she gets lost in thought. She spares a glance across the lunch room to the table both Kelly and Matt were sat at with the football team. They guys still sat with them about half the time, but during football season they were more than likely to be found with their team. Gabby only meets Kelly’s eyes for a brief moment before quickly looking away. She clears her throat before simply shaking her head, as if she was shaking off those memories that had come to mind when she thinks about the boy that had been one of her closest friends at one point.

“Anyways. I  _ thought _ we were still friends. Until I overheard Kelly talking crap about me with Jay and some football buddies at a party one night.”

“Gabby, you know that’s not…” Shay goes to interject, as normal, trying to defend both of her closest friends. 

Gabby is quick to respond, “It is, Shay. Listen, I know Kelly is your best friend, and it’s whatever, but you weren’t there that night so stop defending him.” She bites. 

The blonde holds her hands up in defense. “I know.” She reminds her. Still stuck between a rock and a hard place when it came to the nearly two year long feud that her two closest friends had. “I wasn’t there. I get it, I do. But I’ve talked to Kelly, unlike you.” She reminds her gently. 

Gabby simply offers a short nod, before directing her attention back to Stella. “So what side of events did he give you?” She asks, and Stella can tell she expects him to have lied, and while Stella knows he didn’t go into detail with her as Gabby has, she is also impressed to know he didn’t feed her some story like Gabby clearly expected him to. 

“That side of it, actually.” She tells her, Gabby’s eyebrows shooting up in a burst of surprise that she quickly hides, going right back to eating her food. 

A silence settles over the table, everyone eating their food and letting the previous conversation fade out.

April, who had otherwise been silent looks up from the salad she had been nibbling on, this clearly the replacement for her lunch. A look of near disgust covers her face as she takes in Gabby’s plate. 

“I swear, the stuff they try to feed us here is enough to put someone in the hospital. How do you eat this junk?” She asks. 

Gabby looks up from the heaping forkful she was about to take and eyes her incredulously. April is a health nut, to put it lightly. The majority of her meals did not come from this school cafeteria. 

Gabby looks at April, then back to her plate before making eye contact with the girl across from her while taking a large bite. “Like that.” She forces out around a mouth full of lasagna. 

April shakes her head at her, used to Gabby by now, but Shay laughs loudly, slapping at her friend in her girlfriend's defense, knowing she was far too nice to do as much. 

Gabby holds in her laugh, forcing the food to go past her throat as she chuckles, Stella is left shaking her head and laughing along with them. It’s only her second lunch with this group, but she is slowly learning the dynamic, and to say they all kept her on her toes would be an understatement. 

Before she knows it, Stella has returned to her back corner seat in science class. She sits upright, trying her best to pay attention to Dr. Charles. He carries himself the same way as he had the first day, and she instantly feels more at ease. She eyes Leslie and Kelly several rows ahead with a new appreciation for the obviously deep roots of their friendship. Leslie’s inner conflict between defending Kelly and supporting Gabby did not go unnoticed by her, and she knows their connection must be strong.

“Good afternoon class. I hope your lunch went well,” Dr. Charles begins sincerely, “Since yesterday served as more of an orientation than an actual class, we’ll actually be able to get things up and running today. First and foremost, lab partners.” 

Stella catches a wink from Kelly to his best friend and furrows her eyebrows at the funny feeling it causes in her stomach.

“I just wanna preface this by saying high school is a time for new opportunities. New experiences, memories, even people. So, I assigned lab partners-” A groan resounds throughout the classroom at the news. “Alright, alright. Hear me out. It’s only for the first semester and I think it will be a great chance to get to know your classmates.”

No one responds, but the disgruntled noises cease.

“Thank you. Alright here we go. First we have Leslie Shay and Matthew Casey. Then Vanessa Rojas and Kevin…” Stella stops hearing any names that aren’t hers. The partner she gets could easily dictate the entirety of her first semester at Lincoln High. She just hopes it’s someone easy to get along with. Stella really does not want to dread this class.

“Stella Kidd and Kelly Severide.” 

Stella’s eyes go wide. No way. Of all the students in this class, why him? The one with the eyes that had somehow maneuvered their way into her subconscious, and adversely, possibly the person her best friend hated most in the entire school. She practically hears the laughter from fate. She looks at her new lab partner and finds a trace of a grin on his face before he breaks their gaze. Dr. Charles finishes the list and requests a few minutes of steady conversation between each pair. When the students move to their new tables Leslie gets up to sit with Matt, and Stella takes that as her cue. She grabs her things and makes her way to Kelly.

“Hey,” he says after about half a minute of awkward silence.

“Hi,” she replies looking at him for the first time. It’s the closest look she’s ever gotten at him and she instinctively bites the inside of her cheek. He’s… attractive, to say the least. The combination of his dark hair and light eyes is nearly breathtaking, and Stella immediately knows he gets a lot of romantic attention. He has the whole ladies man, star football player look down to a ‘T’ with his letterman jacket and slightly ripped light wash jeans, but she can’t help but see more than that. She isn’t sure what it is, but she knows there’s something else under the surface.

“Listen, I know you and Dawson go way back and I’m sure she told you a much more colorful version of what happened between us. So if you wanna keep this to just lab partners, I get it. No sweat,” Kelly explains as if it’s what he assumed Stella was thinking about when she looked at him.

“Uh, actually, it’s not a big deal. I have a feeling there’s more to what happened than what anyone is saying. So we’re good, Kelly. Clean slate,” she says with a smile after a moment of thought.

Kelly smiles back, seemingly pleased there wouldn’t be conflict between them.

“Cool.”

Stella is the one to break the awkward silence this time. 

“So, hit anyone with your car lately?”

Kelly laughs loudly, taking her by surprise.

“Actually, no, I haven’t. You?”

“Nah, I actually like to look at where I’m going while I’m driving,” she says matter-of-factly.

“I find that hard to believe,” he retorts.

“And why is that?”

Kelly chuckles but doesn’t say anything. Stella turns to face him more, interested.

“Excuse me? Why is that so difficult for you to believe?”

“All I’m saying is, if I looked like you it’d be hard for me to focus on pretty much anything,” he says with ease, locking eyes with her.

Stella opens her mouth to respond but every word she’s ever known disappears with each rapid beat of her heart.

He smirks at her, satisfied with his victory, and faces the front of the classroom as Dr. Charles resumes his position and continues class. Stella suddenly finds it hard to focus on anything Dr. Charles is saying and spends the rest of class doing everything she can not to look at the boy next to her.

Stella and Gabby head for Stella’s jeep after school. Stella gnaws on her nails, her nerves at a high as she thinks about something that had been on her mind since Gabby mentioned it last night. 

When she looks to her friend her head is down in her phone, clearly unphased by her nervous walking and nail biting. 

“I’ve been thinking.” Stella starts, Gabby looks to her quickly, humming a reply before staring back at her phone. Stella keeps her eyes on her, her anxiety still rising. 

“Quit chewing your nails and spit it out, El.”

“I think I wanna join cheer.” She finally blurts out, stopping her friend dead in her tracks. Gabby looks at her closely for a moment, waiting to see if there is any deception in her words before a huge smile fills her face. 

She squeals in excitement, nearly knocking Stella over when she jumps to give her a hug. “Oh my gosh, El! This is going to be so great.” She nearly yells in her friend's ear, but Stella doesn’t complain, just happy to have made her friend smile so widely. 

Looking over Gabby’s shoulder where she still had her in a tight hug Stella spots the blue eyed boy who she couldn’t seem to shake off today. He had clouded nearly all of her thoughts all day long. Her eyes travel to the gold detailing on his letterman jacket. From nearly running her over, to english partners, and then science partners as well. He was everywhere she turned… and she isn’t nearly upset about that. 

She isn’t sure what this is, all she knows is that his eyes captivate her and she is not complaining about the extra time she would be spending with him during classes, and now as a cheerleader as well. 

“What changed your mind?” Gabby finally asks as they pull apart, the large smile unmoving from her face. Stella forces her eyes back to her friend and away from the boy across the parking lot that was pulling his truck out; thankfully not nearly hitting anyone this time around. 

“You, of course.” Stella explains simply, unwilling to give any other information about her other possible motives. “Figured we spend all our other free time together, why not this too.” She teases. 

Gabby rolls her eyes, hooking an arm around her friend's waist while Stella easily rests hers over her much shorter friends shoulder. 

“Whatever your reasoning, I’m just happy you finally agreed.” Gabby tells her, the two separating once they reach the vehicle. 

“I have a feeling this will be an amazing year, El.”


	3. chapter three

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Shay clears her throat, making a show of doing so as all eyes are on her again. “Well, I know this party is nothing new to some of you, but for others it’s our first time and I feel like it’s the perfect opportunity to ring in our new school year.” She explains, earning a couple nods. “Here is to a kick ass junior year, to good times, and new faces...” She says, smiling brightly to Stella, before turning her smile back to the rest of the group, “...and old. I have a feeling this will be a hell of a year, and I can’t wait to spend it with you all. Now, enough sappiness, let's show the new girl how we party.” She cheers, earning a few laughs and cheers as the clink glasses and down the drinks. 
> 
> or
> 
> the lincoln park kids go to a party, and it’s certainly a night to remember.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> oh look, it’s update day! the first two chapters really served as an introduction, and in my opinion this one really gets the ball rolling for all of our main characters. the story picks up a good amount and things get a lot more interesting from here on out! shelby and i are already so far ahead in mapping out this story, and lemme tell you, there are some great things in store. as always, this same fic will be posted on FF under shelby's username @/peytfan4ever. thanks so much for reading <3 (my twitter is @/sophsmayo and shelby's is @/shelbersmarie_ if anyone wants to reach out!)

It is the first Thursday of the school year, and so far, Stella has settled into her new routine and new friends pretty well. She and Gabby ride to school together everyday, both taking turns driving the other to and from… one of the many upsides of having your best friend as your neighbor. 

Stella’s loving the new dynamic that had been set in their friendship. While they had always been closer than anyone else, this new connection of sharing a school and friends from school is something they never had before. It definitely only furthers their bond and makes it stronger. 

Stella sits waiting patiently at the lunch table for Shay, April, and Gabby to join her. This has become their normal thing, and more often than not she beats them there. The group always settles together for their break in the school day to chat and laugh together. Stella has never had such a close group of friends that all mesh so well, and she is so happy to have been welcomed so openly by Gabby’s school friends. Shay and April are both so amazing. 

April is definitely the much sweeter, quieter of the two. While Leslie Shay is anything but quiet. Her laughter can be heard throughout half the school, but Stella has to admit it is quite infectious. Shay and Gabby are constantly joking and ripping each other and Stella is normally doubled over in laughter at one of the two's expense by the time the lunch period is over. She can’t help the smile that forms on her face at just the thought of her close friends. She had been nervous to start at a new school after everything in her past, but just as Gabby had assured her a dozen times, everything is truly going amazingly. 

She is pulled from her thoughts when April and Shay settle down across from her offering a quick greeting as they continue on with their conversation. 

Gabby settles down beside her a moment later, a smile on her face that has Stella suspicious. 

“Hey, El.” She greets her. 

She looks at her skeptically, “Hey. what’s got you so happy?” She questions. 

Shay snorts from across the table, only furthering her interest when Gabby sends the blonde a glare. She is about to question Gabby again when they are joined by two people. Kelly Severide plops down next to Shay, directly across from Stella, who has a hard time hiding her shock at his arrival and has to force her eyes away and her mouth closed. 

However she knows that would not be what has Gabby so smiley, despite the grin she’s suppressing in the moment, and a second later she looks down and sees Matt Casey settling down on the other side of Gabby, shy smiles being passed between the two that make her shake her head. When Stella looks back up she meets eyes with Shay and can see the pleased look on the blonde's face as she stares at the pair beside her. Stella can’t help but allow herself to grin as well. The four of them sit in silence for a moment, Gabby and Matt seemingly lost in their own little conversation before Shay of course has to interrupt. 

“So,” she starts, loudly enough to break up the two love birds that had their heads tilted towards each other as they talked, seemingly spacing out the rest of the table. Once Shay is positive she has their attention she speaks again, avoiding the glare thrown her way by Gabby. “Who is driving tonight?” When no one says anything, least of all Stella who is looking around confused, Shay sighs. 

“Come on, guys. We need a designated driver, and I am not about to be it, we all know this.” Shay teases. 

“I’ll drive.” Matt concedes. “But we need a bigger vehicle.” Matt explains, his two door pick up not enough to fit a group. 

Gabby is quick to interject. “We can take El’s.” She tells him, his soft smile matching hers when they lock eyes. Stella feels the need to wave her hands around simply to remind her best friend that she’s seated at the table. It’s one thing that they’re making plans she knows nothing about, but now they’re using her car?

Shay shakes her head once more, the grin on her face coming once more. “Great. Now that that’s decided.”

Stella is still confused, watching the scene in front of her in amusement, having not yet been let in on the clear plans they all had. She glances up at Kelly, silently hoping for an explanation, but he just shrugs and smirks, much to her annoyance. Beside her, Gabby and Matt have gone back to talking amongst themselves, it’s the end of the conversation that catches Stella’s attention. 

“If you want to pick us up at my place that would be perfect. Stella and I will just get ready together there.” Stella has to force herself not to roll her eyes at the quiet voice her otherwise very loud friend was using as she nudged her shoulder, finally gaining her attention as she turns herself away from Matt and looks at her in question. 

“What exactly is going on?” Stella asked, her voice low. Gabby raised a brow, unsure of the line of questioning. “Where are we going? What’s happening?” She pushes. 

Gabby’s eyes go wide, suddenly realizing she never let Stella in on the back to school ritual. “Oh shit. I forgot to tell you.” Gabby sighs. “There’s this big back to school blowout that happens every first Thursday night before the first football game. We’re going.” 

“Woah, wait what? I am not going to a party. I have way too much work to do tonight,” Stella quickly corrects, blushing brightly when her exclamation attracts the attention of the rest of the table. 

“Stella. It’s just a party, it’s not a big deal.” Gabby tries to say, but Shay is quickly scoffing. 

“Okay sure. Popular girl over here can only say it’s not a big deal because she’s been going since freshman year,” Shay says pointedly; Gabby smirks. “Normally this party is just upperclassmen, and the players and cheerleaders from all grades. These two-,” Shay motions to Gabby and Kelly. “Have been ditching me for two years now going to this big blow out, and I am finally getting to go. Of course, my girl stays home with me out of solidarity,” She winks at April who immediately smiles wide, “Which means we are  _ all _ going.” 

Kelly smirks, but says nothing, while Gabby’s smile has only grown further. “I’ve told you before, it’s really not that big of a deal.” She tries to say, but the blond boy beside her scoffs as well, breaking his silence and drawing everyone's eyes to him. He looks up sheepishly, Gabby’s teasing glare boring a hole into him. 

“What? Are you really going to tell her it’s not a big deal when everyone knows you are the legend of these parties?” He tells her, Gabby’s glare only turning harder. He holds up his hands in defense. “Hey, just because I chose not to go to them doesn’t mean I don’t hear all the stories, Ms. Keg-Stand.” 

Gabby’s mouth drops open in shock, Stella’s nearly dropping as well as she listens to news of her best friend she had not heard before. She knows Gabby likes to have a good time, but she realizes she is unaware of how good a time. 

“You are so dead, Matt Casey.” Gabby huffs, but the smile she is desperately trying to bite back is coming through. Matt simply raises a challenging brow, remaining silent, a beat of tension passing between the two as their eyes stay locked, only seperating once Shay is clearing her throat. 

“Yeah and I am pretty sure one of your infamous keg-stands was done in your cheer skirt, Ms. Dawson.” Shay quickly interjects, only earning herself a glare and a french fry thrown her way. 

“I swear, I hate you all.” Gabby mutters, her friends laughing at her expense, before turning her attention back to Stella. “I promise you’ll love it, and as a new cheerleader you are practically obligated to go, so…” Gabby trails off. 

Stella resorts to chewing on her nails, still not sure about this. “I don’t know, Ella...”

Gabby is about to start convincing her again, but it’s the voice across the table that beats her to it. Kelly, having otherwise been silent, finally interjects. “It’s a lot of fun, Stella. What’s the harm?” He asks in his signature nonchalant yet incredibly persuasive tone, and Stella can’t help staring at his deep blue eyes that she never seemed to be able to look away from. 

Her feisty best friend shoots him a glare for so much as speaking out of turn, her discontent for the football player already made clear even if she did have to deal with him due to mutual friends. With Kelly staring at her, and everyone else looking on expectantly, Stella finally caves. 

“Fine, I’ll go.” The table nearly cheers, Shay slapping the table in excitement. Gabby wraps her arms around her in a side hug quickly before going right back to talking with the group, but Stella can’t take her eyes off the boy across from her. He smiles widely at her agreement before looking away. She has a feeling tonight may get interesting. 

They head for Gabby’s car after school and Stella is confused when Gabby heads off in a completely different direction than their homes. She turns to her friend, hoping an explanation will come, but Gabby offers up nothing as she sings along to the music. 

Stella turns the volume down, earning a glare from her best friend. “Where are we going?”

“Shopping. I need a new outfit for tonight.” Gabby says simply. 

Stella’s eyes go wide. “Gabby, I told you I have so much work to do tonight.” 

Gabby gives her a look, “El, you will have that all done in the time it takes me to redo my makeup.” Stella is still unimpressed and Gabby sighs. “I promise it will be quick, okay? Besides, you need something new too, this is your first party!” 

Stella looks her outfit up and down. She wasn’t planning on getting too dressed up for whatever this was. Clearly Gabby has other ideas. 

Deciding to leave any other comments to herself Stella turns the music back up, wondering once again what she was in for tonight. 

It’s nearly 9:30 at night when they finally arrive at the party. Gabby immediately leads the way to the kitchen to get them drinks, Stella trailing behind. 

Gabby pours them both a drink, Stella looking at her skeptically as she takes hers. Gabby is in her element, while Stella felt completely out of hers. 

Gabby smirks as she tips her glass to her best friend, “Cheers, El.”

Soon enough they are joined by Shay, April, Kelly, and Matt. The latter gravitates to the short brunette immediately. Stella watches while Gabby offers Matt a drink, who politely declines, instead she listens in as the two lean into each other, having to practically yell over the music. 

“I’m good.” Matt declines, keeping a close eye on the beautiful girl in front of him when she simply shrugs, taking another sip of her drink. 

Matt quirks a brow, his eyes moving from Gabby to the keg across from them, “Can we expect another legendary Gabriela Dawson performance at this year's party?” 

Gabby smirks, shrugging, “I don’t know. Guess you’ll have to stick around to find out, Casey.”

The blond boy’s face lights up with a grin, his tongue running along his bottom lip as he nods. The sultry tone of her voice as the drinks flowed and her confidence soured catching him off guard from their normal conversations. 

Stella cant help but grin at the two. You could see the clear love and want in their eyes and she couldn’t help but be surprised that Gabby had not gone for it yet. She was used to her best friend being this passionate, outspoken, warrior of a woman and to see her so shy and timid around a boy over the last week they’d shared a school had been a change. 

Even the few times Stella had met Jay when the two dated, Gabby had not acted the way she did around Matt. She is happy that at least the few drinks her friend is having are loosening her up to be her normal bold self, and from what Stella could see, Matt Casey is also enjoying it. 

Stella directs her attention from the two over to Shay and April and finds them leaned together, whispering and giggling and she shakes her head taking a large sip of her drink, enough to nearly make her light headed. The alcohol not something she is really used to. The couple, and  _ not couple, _ continue to chat, and Stella can’t help but meet eyes with the blue eyed boy across from her who seemed to be in her thoughts more often than not. 

She can’t seem to pull her eyes from him, the beat of the music and the voices of all those around her drowning out as she stares at him and he stares back, getting lost in each other's lingering looks. She is grateful, or not grateful, she isn’t quite sure, when Shay’s loud voice is pulling her and everyone else’s attention. 

“Okay, come on, everyone. Matt, Gabby, fuck off with the flirting and get over here!” She hollers, clearly already enjoying a drink or two. “We are taking a shot, let's go.”

Stella hears April and Kelly both nearly groan, whereas Gabby shoots Shay a glare for her comment but walks over happily, the blond boy following behind her. 

Shay pours them all drinks which they take. Gabby goes to pass one to Matt and he holds his hand up, “I’m good.” Gabby looks over expectantly, but just shakes her head before downing the shot that was poured for him and looking back to the group. 

Shay clears her throat, making a show of doing so as all eyes are on her again. “Well, I know this party is nothing new to some of you, but for others it’s our first time and I feel like it’s the perfect opportunity to ring in our new school year.” She explains, earning a couple nods. “Here is to a kick ass junior year, to good times, and new faces...” She says, smiling brightly to Stella, before turning her smile back to the rest of the group, “...and old. I have a feeling this will be a hell of a year, and I can’t wait to spend it with you all. Now, enough sappiness, let's show the new girl how we party.” She cheers, earning a few laughs and cheers as the clink glasses and down the drinks. 

The next few hours become somewhat of a blur. Many more drinks and shots are had and Gabby can feel her own defenses dropping as the haze of alcohol takes over. Matt has been by her side most of the night. Whether it was joining in on a conversation with her, Stella and Shay, or talking with Kelly… he never moved far and she wouldn’t dare complain. 

It’s around his third lingering touch to her arm or back when he leaned in to hear her speak that she finally works up the nerve to ask him to dance with her. Her last bit of inhibition has gone from the alcohol now in her system. 

Gabby peers over her drink, looking away from the talk she had been having with Stella and Shay and finding bright blue eyes settled on her. She smiles brightly, unable to pull her gaze away, Matt seeming to have the same feeling. Before she can debate it more she finishes off what is in her cup and sets it down behind her before walking with a purpose up to Matt. 

She doesn’t bother sparing a glance to the girls she left behind, or to Kelly who had been mid sentence with the blond boy when she leans into him and draws his attention. His eyes move down to hers when she rests a hand on his chest, his hand resting on the smooth exposed skin of her hip when she got near as he leans down to hear her, her words take him by surprise. 

“Dance with me?” She asks. 

Matt’s eye brows raise; he swallows thickly. Only able to offer a nod as his throat becomes increasingly dry. He vaguely makes out a low whistle from Kelly and an ‘atta girl’ thrown at them from Shay as Gabby pulls him to the middle of the living room that had become a dance floor in the large house.

Gabby, admittedly is much more coordinated in the art of dancing than Matt, and he easily lets her take the lead. His mind turns hazy as she offers him a grin before taking his hand and spinning around resting her back to him as they move to the upbeat music. Matt feels on top of the world as Gabby grinds back into him his hand resting low on her stomach as they move together. 

It’s not until the second or third song—Matt has honestly lost all coherent thought at this point, his only focus on the girl in his arms—when Gabby flips around, wrapping her arm around his neck and forcing his to the small of her back as they continue to move together. 

Matt can’t stop himself from staring down at her. Gabriela Dawson had always been beautiful. He is positive she never hit that ‘awkward preteen’ phase that so many others did. She’d always carried herself with a confidence he admired… but now looking down at her he can’t help the way his heart rate soars. Her large brown eyes that had always drawn him in are hooded as they stare up at him, her cheeks slightly flushed from the mixture of alcohol and dancing, and her chest rising and falling quickly. 

He rubs his hand up and down her bare back, her black tube top and denim mini skirt leaving little to the imagination, and Gabby’s skin feels on fire from his touch. 

Matt has one thought on his mind and one alone, and that is just how easy it would be to lean down and kiss her like he has wanted to do for longer than he can remember. 

He almost has the nerve worked up, and then they are being practically trampled over, Gabby nearly falling as they are jostled around. Matt’s grip on her tightens, bringing her even closer than before. When the commotion is over Matt looks down at her, his arms still holding firm. 

“You okay?” He asks. 

Gabby swallows thickly, the tension from before only thickening and forcing her to sober. “I’m good.” She says softly, taking a small step back, needing the distance from the near intoxicating feelings he made arise in her. She needs a minute to breathe. Her mind still hazy from the alcohol and Matt’s proximity and… did he almost kiss her?

Suddenly her mind is racing at that thought. 

At some point between Stella’s arrival at the party and the current moment she is in, her world had become a blur. She doesn’t drink often at all, and as a matter-of-fact tonight is only the second time she’s drank in her entire life. The first time being when she and Gabby snuck into her parent’s liquor cabinet during one of the many times they were left alone in the house. Needless to say, this is a far different experience.

Stella loses track of Gabby not too long into the party, but she distinctly remembers her best friend stalking over to Matt like he was prey before pulling him away. Her best friend encouraged her to have fun tonight, and then left her to her own devices. Whether this was a good decision or not had yet to be seen. So far though, Stella is having the time of her life. She can’t remember the last time she’d felt so unbothered, so careless, so  _ free _ . The world feels like an adventure, not a prison as it sometimes did. There is no reason to worry, and Stella could get high off of that feeling alone. 

Without Gabby and Matt, she’s left in a group of Kelly, Leslie, and April. But really just Kelly because the rest of the world is seemingly nonexistent to the couple with wandering hands and eyes. He comes to stand next to her after noticing she isn’t talking to anyone.

“Having fun?” he asks over the music.

“Yeah, I am actually. You?” Stella says, still halfway in the world of the party.

“Eh, it’s nothing I’m not used to.”

Stella laughs. “Okay, we get it Mr. Big Shot.”

“Get what?” 

“That you’re the star football player who gets all the girls and good grades somehow and who everyone loves…” Stella trails off as she realizes her teasing has turned into a string of compliments.

Kelly rolls his eyes. “All I’m saying is, it’s not all it’s hyped up to be.”

“Yeah, right. What could be better than having an entire high school that either wants to be you or be with you?”

“Having someone who knows me.” 

Kelly’s response is blunt and honest, and Stella is taken aback. She meets his eyes for what feels like the millionth time that night.

“Oh,” she says, unsure of how to continue.

“What about you?” Kelly questions.

“I’d rather people want to sleep with me,” she answers with a playful smile before taking another sip of her drink.

Kelly laughs, and Stella can’t stop her brain from registering it as one of her new favorite sounds, especially when she is the cause.

“I meant, how do you like it here? So far, at least.” he clarifies.

“Oh, well, it’s a hell of a lot better than my old school, that’s for sure.”

“What was wrong with your old school?”

“Well-“ Stella begins to tell a story that neither of them were ready for when thankfully, she hears someone call for Kelly.

“Sev! The guys wanna talk to you too, you know,” a taller brunette man says, a beer in his hand.

“Not now, Jay,” Kelly says, almost sounding annoyed.

“Oh, come on! My party, my rules,” Jay continues.

“Go ahead,” Stella says, not wanting to keep him from his friends.

“No, it’s cool. I’ll stay with you.” Even in her already drunken state, Stella hears the concern in Kelly’s voice. His eyes skate over her body and she resists the urge to tug on her tight-fitting jeans.

“Go Kelly, I don’t need a babysitter. Have fun,” she insists. He gives her another once over before giving in and heading off with Jay.

“I’ll be right over here if…” he tries to say but his words are lost in the noise. 

Stella looks around for Leslie and April, but comes up empty. They’d likely gone somewhere more private to make out. She begins to wander the house, enjoying the feeling of invisibility as she snakes through the various crowds.

She is leaning against a wall somewhere for a sense of stability when a figure approaches. His hair is messy and dark, and for a minute, before she can really see his face, she wonders if it’s Kelly. Then, he enters the short distance in front of her where she can see clearly and she notices the dark brown of his irises. She hides her disappointment, realizing the figure is staring at her.

“Hi there, I’m Stella.” She offers her hand to him, not fully aware of the formality of her actions. He takes her hand and brings it to his lips, kissing it. Stella doesn’t like the feeling it gives her and tries to take her hand back. He’s holding on tight, though, and she wonders why.

“Can I have that back, please?” she asks politely. He smiles and releases her hand.

“I’m Grant. I haven’t seen you around school, Stella,” he draws her name out with a tone that makes Stella’s skin crawl, “You must be new?”

“Yup. That’s me. Brand new. I have a friend though, Gabby. I think maybe I should go find her?” Stella says, trying desperately to appear coherent as danger lights flash in the back of her mind.

“No, that’s okay, Stella. You can stay here with me,” Grant replies, and Stella feels a weight on her hips that she doesn’t quite understand. She furrows her eyebrows.

“Um-”

“I promise you’ll have fun,” he whispers quietly in her ear. Stella scrunches her nose at the overwhelming smell of alcohol on his breath and the proximity to her face. She wants to walk away and find Gabby, or Kelly, or maybe even Shay. Anyone she knows. But when she looks around, there’s only a sea of blank faces. She’s alone.

“No, thank you,” she says, frustrated it didn’t come out louder, “I’m okay.”

“But I can make you better than okay.” He smiles that sick smile again and Stella begins to hear the blood rush through her ears. Fear overwhelms her and she channels all of that energy into raising her voice.

“N-” she begins to force out when suddenly, she’s freed. His hands are no longer touching her and she exhales for the first time in what feels like hours. Between the cloudiness of her vision and thinking and the alcohol and anxiety racing through her veins, she has trouble processing the next part. What she does gather, though, is a navy blue letterman jacket standing between her and Grant. The person wearing it is yelling, far louder than she could. Their arm is outstretched behind them, seemingly to protect her. She freezes, unsure of what is happening. 

Gabby has to force her mind from racing further and offers Matt a quick reassuring smile. “I need a drink.” She mutters, feeling far too sober for her racing thoughts. 

Matt smirks, shaking his head, but stretching his hand out to the clear path back to the kitchen where the alcohol is. Gabby leads the way and she feels Matt close behind her as they move. 

Once they hit the kitchen Gabby goes to the bar, grabbing a new red cup and filling it nearly to the brim with beer from the keg. 

Gabby looks to the blond for a moment before raising her brow in question and pretending to shoot him with the fountain of the keg. Matt declines for what must be the fourth time tonight and Gabby’s interest is pegged. 

She takes a few sips of her beer looking him over thoughtfully before finally opening her mouth, thankful to not have to yell now that the kitchen was mostly cleared and the music couldn't be heard as loud. 

“You don’t drink?” She asks simply, though her question seems to be phrased more as a statement. 

Matt looks shocked for a moment, his mouth bobbing open and closed before he chuckles nervously. “Uh, not it’s, uh, I’m just driving you guys, remember?” 

Gabby raises her brow, “So you  _ do _ drink?”

Matt tries to hide his nerves at her line of questioning, trying to take note that her tone is playful, not accusatory. “Sometimes, not often.” He finally answers. 

The short haired brunette nods, tucking the wild curls behind her ear. “I figured, you don’t normally come to these things.” 

“Well, not everyone can live up to the wild party girl that is Gabriela Dawson.” He says playfully, hoping to direct the attention back to her. 

She smiles, shaking her head. “So, what? I like to have fun. Life’s too short, ya know?” 

Casey nods, his smile widening. 

Gabby hops up on the counter, a task proving difficult due to her height alone let alone the tipsy feeling still settling over her. She takes another sip of the beer. “I was actually looking forward to having a drink with you though. I don’t think I’ve ever seen you take a sip.” She counters once more. 

Matt sighs, looking her over. “I’m driving, Gabs.” 

She quirks a brow, “One won’t hurt, Casey.” 

“I don’t drink, Gabby!” He finally says, his tone harsher than even he expected it to be. 

Gabby looks at him in shock, taken aback thinking they had only been teasing each other… 

Matt closes his eyes, taking a deep breath. “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean-...” 

Gabby hops from the counter, her shock turning into anger quickly from him yelling at her. “Forget it,” she mutters. 

“Gabby…” Matt is quick to follow after her, wanting to make this right, but Gabby brushes him off once more. 

Casey grabs her arm, turning her to face him and by the look on her face he knows she is about to let him have it. 

That is until they are both pulled away by yelling. 

Gabby’s head snaps to the side recognizing the voice immediately, realization setting in for Casey a moment later. 

They share a brief look, worry flashing before they rush in the direction of the screaming to get to Kelly, their own fight forgotten. 

“What the hell is wrong with you?! You heard her say no, you dick.” Stella hears in between what sounds like harsh shoves. “I should-” 

Someone’s hand is on her arm, and Stella jumps.

“El? Stella, are you okay? What happened? Are you hurt?” Stella immediately recognizes the voice as Gabby’s and turns around to look at her. Gabby’s eyes are filled with worry and she opens her mouth to explain that she thinks she’s okay when she sees Matt fly past them to stop the fistfight breaking out. So much is happening around her and Stella feels a wave of tiredness fall over her abruptly as her eyelids get incredibly heavy.

“Woah, Severide, calm down.” Casey hollers, stepping in between his friend and a boy he vaguely recognizes as a senior who spends far too much time out back of the school getting high with his friends. 

Severide pushes against him, his mind still in fight mode and Casey struggles to hold him back. He is thankful when Jay comes in, pushing against Grant and holding him against the wall. 

“Kelly!” Matt yells, finally gaining his friends full attention. “What the hell happened?” 

Kelly points angrily at Grant, “This asshole wouldn't take his hands off her!” He yells, causing Grant to scoff, Kelly seeing red once again, and pushing to get past Matt, the latter thankfully holding him in place once more. 

Gabby’s head whips around at that comment, seeing red herself. “You did what?” She bites, her eyes focusing in on Grant. 

“I didn’t do anything to her.” Grant quickly fills in, his eyes rolling. 

Gabby is taking a step forward, ready to kill him, when a voice stops her. “Ella?” Stella’s drunk call has Gabby shooting a glare to the boy in question before turning back to her friend immediately. Her urge to take care of Stella stronger than her urge to bash Grant’s head in. 

Kelly shakes his head, taking Stella in once more. “I’m gonna kill you.” He mutters, ready to go after Grant once more. 

“Severide, come on man, he isn’t worth it. Let’s go!” Matt’s booming voice rings out. Stopping him once more. 

Gabby helps Stella up, wrapping an arm around her. She looks at Matt and Kelly, the blond still struggling to convince his friend to leave it. 

“Matt…” She calls, her voice still holding the same fear and worry for her friend and Kelly and Matt’s eyes are both snapping over to her. 

That is finally enough to pull Severide from his angry stupor and he and Matt are both walking over to the girls, Kelly wraps his arm around Stella’s other side, him and Gabby both walking her towards the door while Matt sends a glare to Grant. 

“I held him back this time, don’t think i’ll do it again.” 

He runs into Shay and April on the way out, rushing to catch up with his friends. “Guys, we gotta go.” He offers, still moving to the door. 

Shay hollers after him, “Just get them home Casey, we will find a ride.”

Casey nods, “Send me or Kelly a text that you got home safe.” He offers, making his way outside and finding Gabby and Kelly already a few feet down the driveway. He picks up his pace to catch up. 

“Come on, let’s go home,” Gabby says softly as they approach the jeep. Kelly opens the door and jumps in, taking up the back seat to help get their nearly asleep friend into the car.

Stella looks up realizing she is outside, and then moments later she’s sitting down in her car and drifting in and out of consciousness. She feels a gentle hand on her left knee and fights the urge to lay her head on the large shoulder next to her.

“It’s okay,” she hears, and so she gives in, laying her head down and sighing contently before falling asleep completely.

Gabby looks back as they take off from the curb and finds Stella leaned against Kelly, the look on his face nearly unreadable. Her worry for her friend still at an all-time high as she takes her in. Kelly looks up from where he had been watching the sleeping girl on his shoulder and offers Gabby a gentle, reassuring smile that despite their differences, she can’t help but return. 

Knowing there is nothing more she can do now, Gabby turns back in her seat. The tension between she and Matt prior to running after their friends settling back in between them.

Gabby shifts in her seat, gnawing on her bottom lip, her anger still there, but her tipsy feeling gone. Her body feeling like a rush of cold water had hit her and sobered her after finding Stella. Gabby keeps her eyes forward, refusing to look over to Matt. 

Casey keeps his eyes on the road, but can’t help stealing glances over at Gabby. He can see the nerves and anger still radiating off her. She is clearly upset with him and he hates it. He spares a quick glance in the rearview mirror to see Severide and Stella both nearly asleep, his head resting comfortably on top of hers. and turns his attention to Gabby, his voice low. 

“I’m sorry… for snapping back there.” He starts, taking note of the way her eyes flicker to look out the window completely avoiding his gaze. “I shouldn’t have snapped at you like that. You didn’t deserve that.” 

Gabby still won’t meet his eyes and he sighs heavily, turning his turn signal on as he turns down a new road. “I’m not a big drinker, at all. I should have just said it flat out, not yelled at you.” He tries once more. Gabby won’t even offer up a nod and he looks back to the road, turning up Stella’s driveway and flipping the car into park. 

Severide shifts in his seat, taking note of the tension coming from the front seat and overhearing the conversation. 

“I can take her inside.” He offers, getting ready to move. 

Gabby finally speaks, turning in her seat. “I’ve got her.” Kelly goes to interject and Gabby is cutting him off. “It’s almost one in the morning and her parent’s would flip out if they saw a random guy they had never met bringing their daughter home.” She says flatly, nearly daring him to object. “I’ve got her.” She says once more, turning in her seat and opening the door. 

Matt’s eyes meet Severides in the rear view mirror, Sev offering a look as if to say  _ I tried _ . Kelly opens his own door, helping Stella out while Matt shuts the car off and gets out too, walking around to Gabby whose focus is on Stella. 

“Gabby.” He offers, not being able to stop himself from trying once more. 

Gabby sends him a glare, taking Stella’s keys from his hand. “Thanks for driving.” She bites before tucking Stella against her side and heading up to the house. 

Matt and Kelly watch them both disappear inside before heading back to Casey’s truck. They settle inside and Matt fires it up, heading off in the direction of Severide’s house. 

They sit in a near tense silence, Casey’s frustration radiating off him. Kelly finally sighs, looking over at his friend and turning the radio down. 

“Why didn’t you just tell her man?” Matt looks at him confused waiting for him to continue.

“Tell her what?” He asks when Severide doesn’t fill in anymore information. 

Kelly rolls his eyes. “Why didn’t you just tell Gabby the real reason why you don’t drink?” 

Matt tenses, his eyes falling closed for a moment while his grip on the steering wheel tightens. He hated thinking about that, why would he share it with the girl he cared so much about?

“Because I don’t think she is ready to know that part of me yet.” He offers simply. 

  
  
  
  
  
  
  



	4. chapter four

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> it’s the first football game of the season!!! so get ready for the football player/cheerleader dynamic (from dawsey and stellaride) that will only get better as the story progresses. there’s a lot of cute moments for both pairings and this is a more laid-back, soft chapter after the chaos of three.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hi! i hope everyone is doing alright with the state of the world right now. these are rough times for a lot of people, and we hope this fic can be a bright spot in everyone’s life right now. this chapter is certainly a favorite and helps build up the relationships for next chapter’s events! as usual, this same fic will be posted on FF under shelby's username @/peytfan4ever. thanks so much for reading <3 (my twitter is @/sophsmayo and shelby's is @/shelbersmarie_ if anyone wants to reach out!)

Gabby stretches lazily before snuggling further into the pillow underneath her and burrowing deeper into the covers. She had just woken up from a dream that she would very much like to drift back off to. A dream that completely encompassed Matt Casey, his deep blue eyes filling her every thought. 

She is nearly back to sleep, she can just see the blue irises staring back at her… and then the bed is shifting roughly. The blankets being thrown off of her forcing her to wake with a start as she barely gets a glance at Stella’s retreating form as she races off towards the bathroom. 

Her brows furrow, still forcing herself into consciousness, but a moment later the retching sound from the bathroom has her letting out a groan, rubbing her hand over her tired face before throwing the rest of the comforter off of herself and following her friend's path. 

She finds Stella hunched over the toilet, still releasing the toxic remnants left in her stomach from the night before. Gabby pulls the long black curls from her friend's face, holding them back and running a soothing hand over her friend's shaky back. 

“You’re good, El. Just let it out.” She murmurs. Gabby pulls the ponytail from her own hair, letting the messy curls fall around her face and pulls Stella’s up into a bun. She rubs a hand over her back once more. Stella dry heaving for a moment more before settling back against the tub behind her. 

Once she is positive the worst of it is over Gabby moves to the sink and turns the water on wetting down a cold rag and folding it up before resting it against Stella’s head. Stella grabs onto it gratefully, murmuring a ‘thank you’ and willing the room to stop spinning. 

Gabby moves back to the sink, grabbing her friend's toothbrush. She wets it and puts a dollop of toothpaste on it before passing it over, Stella taking that item a little less enthusiastically but performing the action anyways. The short haired brunette shakes her head at her, but can’t help the anxiety still in her system. She knew Stella was fine, but the fear and worry and… guilt still settled heavy in her gut. 

She makes herself busy grabbing the both of them some ibuprofen from the cabinet while Stella finishes the task of brushing her teeth. Gabby has a feeling it is going to be an insanely long Friday at school for the both of them. She is nowhere near as hungover as her poor friend, but she would be lying if she said there isn’t a prominent headache forming in the base of her skull that is slowly picking up its pounding feeling. 

“You good?” Gabby asks softly, knowing any louder of a pitch would not be appreciated as Stella hands her the tooth brush back and swallows the pills that Gabby hands her, downing it with the cup of water passed her way. 

Stella nods, but immediately regrets the action. “I’m good.” She settles on instead. Taking a calming breath to will away the lingering nausea and looking up to meet her friend's worried eyes. 

She can’t help but smile, despite her very hazy state the night before, she very much remembers Gabby taking care of her last night. She knows she only made it to her friends bed and into pajamas because Gabby had gotten her there and she vaguely remembers her forcing some medicine and a bottle of water down her throat before letting her fully succumb to the tiredness she had felt.

This morning though, the harsh cold of the bathroom tub shocks her system as it seeps into the skin exposed by the tank top she doesn’t remember putting on. Stella groans, wanting nothing more than to lie down on the tile and sleep forever. Flashes of last night appear behind her closed eyelids, and she tries desperately to piece the nonsensical scenes together. She hears Kelly’s laugh and April’s giggles. She feels Gabby’s hand on her arm but can’t connect why it sends chills down her spine. Then, there’s yelling and shoving and the world is spinning. But the last, and somehow most prominent, thing Stella remembers is resting her head on the leather of a letterman jacket and feeling completely and utterly safe. 

“El?” Gabby’s voice cuts through her thoughts. A small hand is on her shoulder, its thumb rubbing back and forth slowly. She barely feels it though, too caught up in her own head. 

“Stella,” her chin is being lifted and Stella squints in the bright light of the bathroom, “Look at me honey,” Gabby says, maintaining her calm tone. Stella obeys, meeting her best friend’s gaze and seeing more emotions than she could process in the moment. “Where’s your head at?”

“What happened?” Stella whispers, wanting answers. She feels Gabby shift until she is sitting next to her, their arms pressed together. It’s grounding and calms Stella, which is Gabby’s goal.

“Well, we went to a party,” Gabby starts.

“Yeah, I got that much,” the longer haired friend interrupts.

Gabby swallows her sarcastic reply, unsure of how much her friend could handle at the moment.

“I danced with Matt for the first time and definitely enjoyed it. Until he lost his shit at me for no reason, so in typical ‘Gabby Dawson’ fashion, ignored him the rest of the night. Shay and April disappeared into some bedroom like fifteen minutes in for reasons you can probably gather. You talked to Kelly for a bit and drank way too much. Then, we all went home,” she finishes. But Stella, despite the overwhelming intrigue of a conversation with Kelly and a fight between Gabby and Matt, feels something missing. Gabby never lies to her though, so she knows something is up. 

“That’s it?” she asks.

“Yep.” If the pity and sadness in her best friend’s eyes is any indication, she needs to push harder.

“Then why are you looking at me like I’m about to break into a million pieces?” Stella questions genuinely.

“I’m n-”

Stella cuts her off with a glare, which backfires in the form of a shooting pain behind her eyes.

“There was a guy…”

“A guy?”

“Yeah, a guy. I’m not even sure what his name was. Something with a G I think?” Gabby feels herself stalling and forces her way through the rest of the explanation. “He was getting handsy with you, El, and I can’t honestly say I saw it because I was with- well, I wasn’t with you, where I should have been and by the time I got there Severide seemed to have it handled.”

“Hold on. Kelly was involved?”

“Yeah, and I know I should have been there for you El, and I am so so sorry I don’t know what I was thinking leaving you by yourself at your first party and-”

“Ella, hey, it’s okay.” Stella takes on her sincerest tone as she watches her friend’s eyes water. “Gabby, I’m okay. I promise. Please don’t feel bad about this; I can sense your guilt from here. This isn’t your fault, babe,” she insists, slowly turning her body so she can fully face her.

“It is, though. I got so caught up with Matt and I  _ thought _ you’d be safe with Kelly which was clearly a mistake and I just- I’m sorry, Stella. I knew better.”

“Gabriela Dawson stop this crap right now. I have known you my entire life and not once have you _ ever _ failed to protect me. I trust you, and if you say you got distracted, then that’s exactly what happened. The guy was a dick. That has nothing to do with you. I barely remember it. Don’t you dare beat yourself up about this,” Stella says with a conviction that takes far too much energy to muster.

Gabby sighs, giving in, “You sure you’re okay?

“Besides the fact that my head is throbbing, I think I may vomit again, and I see two of you? 100%.”

Gabby laughs softly, exhaling the way she always does when a weight is lifted off her shoulders. Stella smiles a little, satisfied.

“So, you said Kelly was there…” she wonders aloud.

“Oh yeah, Matt had to hold him back for like five minutes after we came over. I don’t know if I've ever seen him that pissed. He was very insistent on beating the shit out of that guy, and if you weren’t so out of it I would have done the same,” Gabby explains.

“God, that’s embarrassing,” Stella mumbles, running her hands over her face.

“Nah, I don’t think he minded,” the shorter girl responds, thinking briefly about the look on Kelly’s face as he watched Stella burrow her head into his shoulder in the car last night,” Why would you care anyway?”

“What? I don’t. I’d just rather not make a fool of myself in front of the friends I literally just made.” Stella covers quickly, refusing to consider the truthful answer to the question.

“The only person that made a fool of themself last night was the jackass that thought he could fuck with my best friend,” Gabby replies with a wink. She gets up slowly, offering her hand to a reluctant Stella. 

“I don’t wanna,” the far more hungover girl whines.

“Well me neither, but it’s game day. So we’re going to get up, go put on our cheer uniforms and do our makeup so we can once again be the hot bitches that Lincoln Park expects us to be.” Gabby opens and closes her hand in expectation. After quickly contemplating the drastic consequences of not listening to her stubborn best friend, Stella gives in and rises from the floor with Gabby’s assistance.

Fifteen minutes later, Stella is leaving the bathroom—wrapped in the towel Gabby’s parents always keep clean for her—after a very welcome hot shower. She opens the door and openly stares at the absolute vision that is her undeniably attractive best friend in the eye-catching cheer uniform. It hugs Gabby in all of the right places, highlighting her hourglass figure and revealing her smooth, muscular legs. Her curly, dark brown hair is completely smooth, brought together in a cute low ponytail by a disproportionately large navy blue and gold cheer bow. 

“Take a picture, it lasts longer,” Gabby looks up at her best friend with a sly smile. 

“Oh please, we both know Matt stands no chance against me. You’re mine if I want you, Dawson,” Stella immediately quips back.

Gabriela laughs and tosses Stella’s uniform at her. “Your turn.” 

Stella catches the pieces of fabric and bites her lip at the realization that she has no idea how to put any of it on. Nevertheless, she drops the towel and tries her best to make it work, grateful for the undergarments Gabby threw in with the uniform. She works from the bottom up but gets stuck trying to put the sleeves on over the top. Gabby looks over from where she’s doing her makeup at Stella’s frustrated groans. She chuckles and walks over to her friend, detangling her and giving her the important instructions of always putting on the sleeves before the shell. Soon enough, the taller girl is in full gear and Gabby steps back to admire her work. 

Stella shifts uncomfortably under her watchful eye.

“Suddenly I’m regretting making you cheer,” Gabby says solemnly.

Stella nearly cries, terrified she looks hideous in the uniform. “What?! Why?”

“Because now I have competition for the hottest girl on the squad! You look  _ so good _ , El, oh my god. You were destined for this.”

Stella scoffs.

“I’m serious! Go look at yourself,” Gabby exclaims, gesturing to the full body mirror by her door as if Stella hadn’t been using it for over a decade.

She walks over to her reflection and immediately wants to walk back. The girl in the mirror is so... exposed. Skin that rarely sees the light of day is on display for the world to see in the seemingly insufficient uniform. Her legs look long and  _ attention-grabbing _ , and the slimness of the shell showcases the waistline she’d nearly forgotten she has. Stella, above all else, sees herself as enticing. A look she’d specifically avoided since her arrival at her new school. Unfortunately, it is far too late to back out now. Stella stares at herself a little while longer, trying her best to take in Gabby's comment while pulling down on the skirt, fighting the feeling that it is far too short for her.

Even now as she makes her way through the halls, Stella can't help but tug on the tight material as she approaches her first period class. She enters the partially filled room, silently wishing she’d waited for Gabby. The back of Kelly’s head greets her at the table they’d sat at for the past week, and she takes a deep breath before walking up to him. 

“Hey,” she tries to say casually. Between last night’s events and today’s look, Stella finds herself overwhelmingly nervous to talk to Severide.

He starts talking before turning around to see her, obviously recognizing her voice.

“Hey, Stella, are you-” his question is cut short when he lays eyes on her, and Stella swears she can feel her skin burning. “Holy- you look  _ hot _ , dude. If I’d known you’d look like that in a uniform I’d have told you to cheer from the moment I met you,” he says without shame.

Stella’s eyes go wide as she tries her absolute best not to malfunction. That seems to be a common opinion this morning.

“Oh, shut up,” she replies in what she hopes is a casual tone. She sits in her seat quickly, grateful to have somewhere to hide the bottom half of her body. Stella decides to write off the warm feeling she got in the pit of her stomach at Kelly’s compliments as embarrassment, despite knowing that isn’t quite the truth. She also ignores how great he looks in his football jersey.

“You were saying?” Stella interrupts Kelly’s staring hoping to draw the attention away from her appearance.

“Oh yeah, are you okay? I’m sorry about last night. I never should have walked away from you.” Kelly’s tone is serious, and Stella knows he means his words.

“Yeah, I’m good, Kelly. I promise. No sweat,” she says, mocking his comment from earlier in the week in an attempt to validate her words.

“You sure?” he says skeptically.

“I’m sure. But I will say, I didn’t know you cared,” she taunts.

“Well, now you do.”

Stella looks at him and smiles widely, unable to deny the way her heart flutters at his words.

“Are you excited for the game?” she asks him while pulling out her things. 

“Hell yeah. You?”

“Eh. More nervous than excited.”

“Nervous? Why?” he asks, clearly confused.

“Are you kidding? It’s my first game. Ever. I’m terrified.”

“Of what?”

“Screwing up. I mean Gabby drills us in practice and we go over it every night I’m over her house but still. This is new territory for me,” she explains.

There’s a pause before Kelly responds.

“I’m sure you’ll do great,” he offers, but she can tell they aren’t the words he wants to say. 

“Thanks.”

Gabby moves through the hall before the first period, having separated with Stella in the parking lot to head to the gym and put their cheer bags away for the game tonight. 

With it being the first game of the season and Gabby being junior captain she has a lot to handle today to make sure the team is ready… and she is really hating herself for going to the party last night. 

Not only for the drama that had ensued, or the drinks she had drunk, but because now she felt so behind on her day and still needed to get to her locker before first period began. 

What she doesn't expect is to find Matt Casey leaned against her locker, clearly waiting for her. She can’t help but roll her eyes, but the smile that desperately wants to appear at just the sight of him, let alone knowing that the first thing on his agenda this morning, was finding her. 

He is in his navy football jersey, the bright gold number three plastered on his chest and her heart rate picks up remembering last night. She wishes it was a little more fuzzy than it actually was, but despite her many drinks and her lowered inhibitions the night before she remembers it all vividly. She remembers flirting openly with Matt, and she definitely remembers how he felt pressed against her when they danced. She remembers vividly how his hands on her bare skin had made her feel on fire. She remembers staring up into his eyes and having to stop herself from pushing herself up on her toes and kissing him. 

She shakes her head, forcing those thoughts away, because the other thing she remembers is fighting with him. She remembers pushing the issue of him having a drink with her thinking they were teasing each other, and she remembers him raising his voice at her… but she also remembers the near instant regret that had filled his features and how desperately he had tried to apologize and she had blown him off. 

Honestly, the fact that he was standing in front of her locker waiting to talk to her instead of vice versa was impressive. Though she knows she shouldn’t be all that shocked. Even if she was the one that owed him an apology and not the other way around she knows that this is just who Matt is. It always had been and she was sure it always would be. He truly is the nicest and most genuine person she knows and that was saying a lot for how young they all are. 

She clears her throat when she comes to stand in front of him, his form completely blocking her from getting her books. He looks up slightly startled, but his surprise doesn’t lessen at all as he takes her in. It is nearly impossible to forget Gabby Dawson in her cheer uniform, but as he takes her in he realizes his fond memories do her no justice. 

“Hey.” He says softly, swallowing away the dryness that seeing her in her uniform almost always caused. 

Gabby motions to her locker, biting back the smirk that wants to leave her lips at his reaction to her. 

Matt nervously stumbles away from in front of her locker, coming to stand at her side as she puts in the combination and then opens the locker. He shifts on his feet, still very aware that she had yet to say anything to him. Finally, he sighs. 

“Listen, Gabby. I know you’re pissed at me, and honestly I don’t blame you. I shouldn’t have come at you like that. I am really sorry for yelling at you. It was completely uncalled for and I-...”

Matt is cut off when she closes her locker door and wraps an arm around his neck, practically on her tiptoes to do so. He barely gets a chance to rest his arms around her, his shock barely wearing off before she is pulling back, a shy smile on her face. 

“It’s okay, Matt.” She tells him softly, tucking the loose bangs that have fallen forward behind her ear. 

Matt grins, his blue eyes shining with relief. “Yeah?” 

She nods, her smile deepening. “Yeah, of course. I’m the one that should be apologizing. I’m sorry I pushed the issue. That wasn’t fair to put you in a position like that and…” Gabby trails off, looking to the floor and shaking her head in embarrassment. There was a reason she had never really seen Matt at those parties before, and she should have never pushed the issue. She has no problem with him not drinking, she truly couldn’t care less, and thinking back on it now she feels terrible for seemingly peer pressuring him into it. “I’m sorry. Really, and I am sorry for being such a brat when you tried to apologize. You didn’t deserve that.”

Her words mimic his own and he can’t hide his grin. “Well, that’s very noble of you, Gabriela.” He teases, hoping to lighten the mood and erase any of her remaining insecurities about the issue. 

She shakes her head, sending him a playful glare and punching his arm. “Shut up, jerk.” She mutters, Matt shying away from her next hit as they both laugh. 

The first bell rings, signaling it was time to head to class and the two take off down the hall side by side knowing their first period english was together. Matt throws an arm over her shoulder and Gabby has to hide the way that affects her when he leans down near her ear. 

“You know, I am still pretty disappointed I didn’t get to witness your famous keg-stand.” He teases. Gabby looks up at him with a glint in her eyes, before looking forward as they near the classroom. 

“Come on now Case, in that mini skirt from last night?” She teases, moving out of his arms and walking through the door backwards, smirking wickedly. “That would hardly be appropriate.” 

Casey nearly gulps at her words, pausing in the doorway as she continues to the back of the class where they both sat. He isn’t sure how he’s going to get through the rest of this class with  _ that _ on his mind. 

It’s about halfway through class that she reaches down into her backpack and pulls out a sports drink and candybar, a ribbon tied around it and a little note with his name on it. A message of ‘Good Luck’ written on it in her squiggly handwriting that his heart rate is picking up once more and he is looking at her with a raised brow. 

She shoots him a look, shaking her head, but the pink that rises on her cheeks is undeniable. “Don’t read into it. I’m your cheerleader this year. All the guys got one.” She deadpans, but she’ll never admit that she secretly went out of her way to make sure he got his favorite candy bar and colored drink unlike the other boys which she had just thrown together in a haste, uncaring if a note of good luck was written on it, let alone whether they liked the flavors they received. 

Lincoln Park has a tradition of the cheerleaders being assigned football players that they took care of during the season. Normally, a new locker sign of support and a snack of some sort is passed out on game days. Gabby admittedly always went a little all out on this tradition. This year she had made sure she had the blonde haired blue eyes boy, but that is just another thing she wouldn’t be admitting to him anytime soon. 

Matt offers her a grin and a “Thank you,” before taking the lid off the drink and taking a sip. He won’t admit that having her tell him ‘all they guys got one’ didn’t sting a little. There is no way he is going to admit he had hoped it was something she had done just for him… 

The harsh fluorescent lights of the science classroom attack Stella’s senses, worsening her already tense headache. She groans, digging the heels of her palm into her temples. The combination of a hangover, game day jitters, and sitting a foot away from Kelly proves to be deadly. She rests the ball of her foot on the tile and begins bouncing her leg rapidly in order to ease her nerves. It works enough, and she looks up begrudgingly to tune into Dr. Charles’ words. 

“...So for most of the year one partner will draw and the other will take notes on whatever specimen I decide to bring in. Some of them will be alive, some won’t. But they’ll all be harmless I promise,” he assures. 

Stella squints, feeling as though she’s missed something important, and she turns to look at Kelly for the first time since they arrived ten minutes ago. He is staring intently at Dr. Charles, seemingly soaking in every word. She has to stop herself from staring at him and turns to the front. 

“Have at it!” Dr. Charles says, and Stella blinks. 

She leans over to Kelly and whispers, “Uh, have at what, exactly?” in what she hopes is a sweet voice amidst her physical discomfort. 

He grins, and begins the explanation. 

“Basically, at the beginning of every class Dr. Charles is gonna bring in something for us to ‘observe’ for like fifteen minutes. One of us takes notes on it and the other one draws a picture. And we have to decide who does which now because it’s gonna stay the same the entire semester so we can see how our skills grow. Today,” he points to a small plant sitting on their lab table that Stella definitely hadn’t noticed, “we have this dude.”

Stella sits back in her chair, impressed.

“You really paid attention, huh.”

“Well someone has to pick up the slack since someone else is very evidently hungover,” he says simply.

“Shut up,” she says, fighting a smile.

“Make me.” He challenges, looking her right in the eyes, and she realizes he may not be kidding.

Stella swallows thickly.

“Anyways!” she says abruptly needing to change the topic, and fast, “I am probably the worst artist in the entire world, so can I take the notes?”

“Eh, I’m probably worse. Maybe I should write,” he counters.

“Impossible.” 

He sighs and shaked his head, “Stella, I-”

“Please?” she pouts.

Kelly looks at her and cocks his head to the side, considering something. 

“Fine.”

“Yay!” she says excitedly. 

“But only if you give me your number,” he finishes.

Stella is almost startled by his request. 

“W-why?” she silently scolds herself for stuttering.

“For homework? Why else?” he asks, feigning cluelessness.

Stella rolls her eyes. 

“Deal.” She rips a piece of paper from her binder and scribbles her number down quickly. 

When Kelly reaches for it, though, she pulls her hand back and laughs at how closely he misses. Then, he flashes a smile and she’s immediately disarmed. Kelly snatches the paper from her frozen hand and smirks, knowing exactly what he did. 

She turns back to the front, pulls out another paper, and begins writing basic details about the seedling in front of her. It’s cute and small, kind of like Gabby. She refrains from writing that down and goes with basic color and size instead. There isn’t a whole lot to write though, and Stella finishes pretty quickly. 

“Done!” she says, pleased with her work. 

“Same,” Kelly replies almost quietly.

Stella looks over at his paper with a teasing comment on her lips when she is left speechless. The drawing is almost a carbon copy of the real thing. With only a pencil, he’d managed to create one of the most realistic drawings she’d ever seen. She feels as though she could pick it up off of the page. 

“Kelly, that’s-”

“Yeah I know it’s not my best. If I had more time I could probably make it better.”

“No, Kelly.” Stella grabs the paper. “This is crazy good. You don’t see that? It looks just like the real thing! You’re really talented,” she finishes softly so he knows she’s genuine. 

Kelly shrugs. 

“I’m serious. I had no idea you were such a great artist,” she pushes him to accept the compliment.

“There’s a lot of things you don’t know about me, Stella Kidd.” 

_ Challenge accepted,  _ she thinks.

Stella watches in interest as her best friend paces the sidelines, nearly an hour before the game was scheduled to start. The girls had to be here early for one last quick practice. The boys are out practicing as well, and Stella can tell that Gabby is nervous. 

It is something she was not really used to from her friend, Gabby being unsure of herself is a feeling far and few between, but Stella is starting to see more and more layers to her strong willed friend in just the short time that they had been going to school together. 

Gabby is watching as one of the stunt groups throw up a tuck, gracefully as far as Stella could see, but Gabby looks less than impressed. Stella finally gets up from where she had been stretching and comes to stand in front of the short brunette, the done up makeup and large cheer bow looking out of place on her friends grumpy face. 

“What’s wrong, Ella?” 

Gabby shakes her head, going to correct the group behind Stella once more, but her friend places her hand on her shoulder, rooting her in place and giving her a pointed look. Gabby huffs in annoyance, but finally calms enough to answer. “This is all a fucking mess, and I am stressed. And this all falls on me tonight if we look like shit and…”

“Woah, woah. First off, we look great.” Stella won’t admit that she is far too new to this to know what  _ looked like shit _ and what did not, but from her perspective they are fine. “Besides, even if we didn’t Gabby, it’s not a big deal. It’s the first game. Quit stressing and just enjoy it.” 

Gabby gnaws on her lip, taking a relaxing breath. Truly, she had never cared so much about all this, but being an upperclassmen and a junior captain is stressing her out. Spending her prior night drinking and still nursing a headache from doing so was definitely not helping matters, but she knows Stella is right, and stressing over something so minor isn’t worth it. She’s once again so grateful to have her best friend at her side this year. 

She offers her a small smile. “Thanks, El.”

Gabby spends the next hour of the game far more relaxed and actually enjoying herself, like she should. They line up as the boys come out on the field and just like that, the first football game of the season is underway. 

When halftime hits and the Lincoln Park Lions are leading by a touchdown Gabby leads the girls in one last cheer before they all settle to the sideline for the band's halftime show. Gabby is actually impressed by the squad's work so far, and her nerves from earlier in the evening are nearly completely melted away. 

Gabby is picking up her pom-poms and heading to the sidelines with the rest of her girls when she is nearly knocked to the ground, arms come out to steady her and she looks up to find piercing blue eyes staring back at her. 

“God, Gabby. I’m sorry, you good?” Matt asks, looking her over. 

Gabby gulps, nodding quickly. She looks up seeing the group of football players running past them to get to the locker rooms. 

“Yeah, I’m good.” She barely gets out, before nodding in the direction of the rest of the players. “You uh, you should probably get going there hot shot. Your team’s waiting.” She teases, both knowing she was referring to the multiple touchdowns he had thrown over the first half of the game. 

Matt doesn’t bother wiping the grin off his face, as he nods, jogging backwards for a moment he shoots her a wink that has her heart rate soaring before he turns and heads off with the rest of his team. Leaving Gabby nearly breathless as she tries to collect herself before moving herself back to the sidelines where she finds Stella and April waiting with grins plastered to their faces. Shay is hanging over the stands to be near, a knowing grin on her own face as well as she looks her best friend over. 

Gabby feigns innocence, looking at the girls in question. 

“What was that Gabriela Dawson?” Shay asks. 

Gabby simply shrugs, setting her poms down and grabbing a drink from her water, still trying to bite back the smile that won’t leave her. “I have no idea what you are talking about, Leslie Shay.”

Shay scoffs. “Please, don’t play dumb with me, look at you. All lit up like a Christmas tree.”

Gabby shakes her head, shooting her blonde friend a glare. “Shut up, Shay.” 

Stella shakes her head, scoffing at her best friend's blatant attempt at deflecting the situation. Gabby’s glare turns to her, her eyes narrowing. “Something to say, Ms. Kidd?” She teases, almost daring her to come for her. The two of them having far too much dirt on each other to engage in this battle. 

Stella goes to make a comment, but someone calling her name pulls all of their attention away. She is surprised when she looks up and finds Kelly Severide walking towards them, his football gear still on, helmet tucked under his arm and his trademark smile on his lips. She doesn’t hide her smile at seeing him, but she keeps her hands in fists at her sides to avoid chewing at her nails.

“Hey ladies,” he says to the group of girls, but his eyes remain trained on Stella.

A chorus of greetings come from Shay and the cheerleaders, sans Gabby, and Stella can’t help but take in the work of art that is Kelly Severide in the middle of a football game. His arms are extremely toned, each muscle highly noticeable in the short-sleeved navy jersey. Beads of sweat cover almost all of his exposed skin, yet somehow it only makes him shine. Stella’s eyes naturally travel to the outline of his abs, and she quickly halts the spiral of thoughts about what they’d look like without the tight covering. The blue of his eyes looks almost bright, contrary to their usual misty shade, and she realizes how truly happy he is. He seems light, almost airy, for once. The game clearly has a positive effect on him, and Stella briefly wonders if football makes Kelly feel free. The air of exhilaration surrounding him is infectious. 

She takes a few steps toward Kelly, separating herself from the girls so she can hear him better. 

“First I found out you’re secretly Picasso, and now you’re insane at football too? Is there anything you can’t do, Kelly Severide?” Stella bites her lip, hoping she isn’t being too forward. At this point, Kelly is her friend, and it’s definitely normal to be proud of your friends.

“All these compliments are gonna give me a big head,” he says, his eyes practically sparkling in the fading sunlight.

“Mm, I don’t think you need me for that.”

He smirks.

“And you didn’t need to worry. You’re doing great. Not one screw up by my count.” he says smoothly.

“So you’ve been watching?” Stella asks.

“Nah, but I’m pretty sure if you messed anything up there’d be a cheerleader somewhere with a broken arm.”

Stella laughs, and if she hadn’t closed her eyes for a moment the smile that flashes on Kelly’s face would have sent her heart rate through the roof.

“Wow! Has anyone ever told you you should be a comedian?” she asks sarcastically.

“Has anyone ever told you should never take off that uniform?” he retorts.

Stella opens her mouth for another playful response when she hears the football coach shout Kelly’s name. 

“That’s my cue. I’ll catch you after the game?” There’s a sliver of hope in his voice that Stella pretends she doesn’t hear.

“No promises.”

Kelly shakes his head at her and jogs back to the field with a grin a mile wide plastered on his face. The one on Stella’s face is identical as she heads back to the group.

When the game gets back underway, Kelly moving to join the team on the field and Stella coming back to settle beside Gabby, the latter raises an eyebrow in her direction, a questioning look on her face. 

Stella looks her over, resting her hands on her hips, “What?”

Gabby shakes her head, “Nothing. It’s just, in the three years I have been cheering on the varsity squad, Kelly Severide has never once come over to talk to the cheerleaders. Let alone look our way unless he is trying to sleep with one of us.”

Stella rolls her eyes. “It’s not like that, Gabby. He’s my friend.” 

Gabby doesn’t miss the way her best friends' defenses have risen at the mention of the boy, and she definitely did not miss the smile or look in her eyes when the two were talking. But she isn’t given any more time to dwell on it as the game starts back up and she is back in cheerleader mode once more. 

The game is soon coming to an end and Gabby is leading the squad in cleaning up their stuff before they part ways, but only briefly. The majority of the squad, along with Shay and a couple of other friends were meeting at Gabby’s house after the game for a sleepover. 

She rushes her and Stella home, wanting to beat the rest of the girls to her place and heads inside, Stella following behind. The taller girl briefly thinks about not saying goodbye to Kelly, but figures it’s probably for the best. Maybe she can keep him on his toes.

When the girls come through the door they’re greeted by Gabby’s parents, both sitting in the dining room, clearly waiting up for her. 

“Hey, Mama. Papa.” Gabby sets her cheer bag down and moves to her mother first, giving her a quick hug and kiss on the cheek before going to her father. Ramon Dawson wraps his little girl up in a tight hug. 

“Hi, mija. How was the game?” He asks, settling his daughter against his side as Camilia wraps Stella up in a tight hug, the girl offering a wave in greeting to her friend's father as she stays tucked into Camilia’s side. 

“It was really good. We won.” She says excitedly, her parents smiling. “The squad looked really good too. Stella killed it.”

Ramon chuckles, pressing a kiss to his daughters head. “That’s great girls.” He looks over to Stella, the girl that had easily become a second daughter and constant fixture in their lives. “You have a good time, El?” 

Stella quickly nods, “Yeah. I think I’m gonna have fun cheering this year. Even if I was skeptical at first.” She jokes lightly. 

Gabby rolls her eyes at her, pulling herself from her father’s arms after one last hug. “I’m going to head up and change before all the girls get here.” She tells them, grabbing her bag once more. “Is it alright if I order us all a couple pizzas?” 

Camilia nods, “Of course, sweetheart. I left the debit card by the landline. Don’t go crazy.” She says pointedly, giving her youngest child a stern look. 

Gabby smiles. “Wouldn’t dream of it.” She jokes. Earning a laugh from her father and another look from her mother letting her know she wasn’t impressed. “I will keep the bill low and we will all be on our best behaviors.” She concedes.

Camilia nods. Giving Stella one last squeeze before pulling away and finishing up the tea she had left before setting the cup in the sink. “Alright girls, we’re heading off to bed, just wanted to make sure you got home safe.” 

Ramon gets up as well, following his wife to the stairs and pressing one last kiss to the top of each girl's head. “Goodnight, be good. No boys. We love ya both.” He chants, hearing two ‘love yous’ thrown back to him and his wife before they are out of ear shot once more. 

The girls head to Gabby’s room, both changing out of the uniforms they had worn all day into something more comfortable, and Stella would be lying if she said Kelly’s comments don't come to mind as she strips off each piece. Gabby settles on a pair of old cheer shorts and an old baggy college sweater of Antonio’s that she had stolen the last time he was home on vacation. While Stella pulls on a comfortable t-shirt and a pair of flannel pajama pants before they head down stairs, just in time for the doorbell to ring and Shay and April to arrive. 

Gabby calls in the pizza and it doesn’t take long before the rest of the girls, along with the food all arrive and they are settling down in Gabby’s finished basement. All of the girls settle around on sleeping bags and blankets that are littered across the floor, couches and chairs that take up the open living space, a movie playing in the background but not getting much attention from the group as they talk. 

While the girls all settle around to talk Gabby catches sight of her blonde best friend getting up and heading towards the bar that housed the pizza and is quickly getting up to follow. She settles beside her, and Shay looks at her questioningly, seeing there is clearly something on her friend's mind as she continuously looks back to the group of girls. 

“What’s up?” Shay finally prods. 

Gabby looks at her uncertainly before finally opening her mouth and spilling what has been on her mind since the night before at the party, but only further confirmed at the game tonight. 

“I think Stella and Severide are into each other.” She blurts out. 

Shay nods, scoffing, and going back to picking out her slice of pizza. Gabby huffs, “Shay, come on.” She pushes, practically pleading at this point. 

Rolling her eyes Shay looks back at her with a grin. 

“Please. I’ve  _ known _ this, I’ve just been waiting on you to catch on to the lingering looks and constant giggling, from both of them. What took you so long?” She asks, a teasing, yet exasperated tone to her voice. 

Gabby looks at her in shock, before that shock quickly morphs into annoyance as she slaps her arm. “Why didn’t you tell me earlier?” She cries. 

Shay laughs, popping a bite of pepperoni into her mouth before turning back to her. 

“I was having too much fun watching you be clueless.” She jokes. “So, now that you do know, what are we going to do about it?” She asks wickedly. 

  
  



	5. chapter five

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Stella stares aimlessly at her ceiling, a playlist full of sad music blasting from her phone. So far, she’d had plans and they’d gotten canceled, and then a few hours later she’d had new plans and they’d gotten canceled even faster than the first ones. It had been a rollercoaster, to say the least, and she wants nothing more than to curl up under her covers and think about how lonely she feels. That is until the sound of a text muffles her music.
> 
> or
> 
> gabby and stella both have a night to remember with their boys.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hi again! sorry there was no update last week, shelby and i both had a lot going on and decided to give ourselves a little break. but we’re back and my favorite chapter yet!!! there’s more dawsey and stellaride then ever before, and we really think you’ll love this one. we hope this can be a little break from the harshness of the world right now. as always, this same fic will be posted on FF under shelby's username @/peytfan4ever. thanks so much for reading <3 (my twitter is @/jackieskidd and shelby's is @/shelbersmarie_ if anyone wants to reach out!)

Gabby sits on her bed, pulling on her combat boots and tying the laces before she stands up in front of her mirror to take in the outfit she had chosen for the day. She had paired her black boots with her black high waisted shorts and a white v-neck shirt with a plaid shirt tied around her waist to finish it off. She turns in the mirror, checking herself out once more before running a hand through her unmanageable curly hair. Deciding she would deal with that in a moment she moves to her vanity and starts working on her makeup. 

She can’t help but think back to the sleepover that had taken place on Friday night. It had been fun getting to hang out with all of her friends, but more importantly, she can’t stop thinking about the conversation she had with Shay. 

Stella and Severide are into each other, she had been questioning it the night of the party, but it was only really confirmed for her on Friday at the game. Truthfully, she isn’t sure what she feels about it. She knows at one point in time she would have been all for that relationship. Stella is her best friend. At one point in time, Kelly had been her closest guy friend. Hell, even one of her closest friends in general… but a lot has happened since that time. 

She has her issues with Kelly now. They had fallen off. He lost her as a friend and she wasn't sure if she could ever forgive him for what she had heard him say about her… as much as she tries to bury it all in anger, she can’t, because having someone she thought would always be like her brother say those things behind her back had hurt her more than she ever could admit. 

Being angry at Kelly? Well, that was easy. 

Or at least it had been, but if Stella got together with him, she knows she will have to find some middle ground. She won’t knowingly make things difficult for her best friend because of her own grudge. 

Gabby finishes up her eye makeup, ensuring the small black wings she had drawn on with her favorite eyeliner were perfect before she moved on to her foundation, sparing a glance at the clock and seeing Stella would likely be here to pick her up soon. 

The other part of all this that she can’t stop thinking about is how much she wants to see Stella happy, how much her best friend  _ deserves _ to be happy… even if she doesn’t necessarily like the person that makes her happy. She would put that aside, at least as much as she could, to ensure Stella gets what she wanted. After everything Stella had gone through at her old school… things that Gabby still feels at fault for, she would do anything to make sure her best friend gets the happiness she deserved.

She knows that while Kelly Severide may be far from her favorite person in the world, he also isn’t the worst guy either. Even though her friendship with him is no longer there, she knows he had always remained a solid friend to both Shay and Matt. Aside from Stella, those two are her closest friends and she knows they wouldn’t still be friends with him if he wasn’t a great guy. 

Gabby can’t deny that even if she is not ready to forgive him, and even if there’s no one that quite rubbed her the wrong way like Kelly does, he had always been respectful of her when they had been in a group. Even if she isn’t friends with him, they still are forced to spend a lot of time together because of Shay and April. 

She sighs, finishing her makeup quickly and running her hands through her curls once more. She had let them dry naturally today and they are a bit unruly, not a look she normally sticks with, but a look at the clock letss her know she isn’t going to be able to do much else with them. 

She stops her racing thoughts about her best friend and ex-friend long enough to put some product in her hair and calm the frizz. She’s just made it manageable when Stella is stepping through her doorway, she is donned in her typical ripped jeans, converse, and t-shirt. Her friend still looking amazing in the loose-fitting clothes and nearly no makeup. 

“Morning.” Stella greats happily, clearly in a good mood. She looks Gabby over. “You ready?”

Gabby nods, taking one last look in the vanity mirror and running her hand through her curls one last time, tucking a ponytail to her wrist that she was positive she would be using with how much she was already annoyed with the locks.

She grabs her bag, throwing the brown faded leather over her shoulder and pushes her sunglasses onto the top of her head before looking back to her friend that was still bouncing happily on the ball of her feet. She raises a brow, unsure where the pep in Stella’s step has come from today.

“Okay, spill it. What has you so peppy today?” She asks, moving to the door while Stella follows behind. 

Stella stops, forcing Gabby to turn around and face her. The long-legged girl giving her a look. “Don’t tell me you forgot.”

Gabby raised her brow once more, the confusion settling on her face. 

Stella’s face screws up into an adorable pout. “Gabby! We have a girl’s night planned.” She starts, seeing the recollection starting to settle onto her friend’s face. “Remember? Milkshakes.” 

Gabby nods, turning back around and heading to the door. “Oh, yes, of course.” She plays off quickly. 

Stella shakes her head as they head out the door, Gabby turns to lock it and makes her way to the black jeep. 

“You forgot.” Stella fills in. 

“I did not forget.” Gabby is quick to defend. 

She did forget. Her mind has been so consumed with her thoughts of not only Kelly and Stella and her talk with Shay on Friday, but also on Matt. The two having text each other nearly all weekend. She has been a little distracted, but she is looking forward to the girl’s date with Stella tonight. 

Hopping into the driver's seat Stella simply shoots her friend another look letting her know she does not believe her. Gabby ignores her, turning the radio on as Stella starts the vehicle up. 

“You totally forgot,” Stella interjects once more. 

“Oh please, just drive,” Gabby mutters, still not willing to admit what they both know to be true. She rests her legs up on the dash of the jeep and pulls her sunglasses down onto her nose, head bobbing to the music as Stella pulls from the driveway and heads in the direction of their school. 

When they get to school the girls head to their lockers before moving to their first-period class. Gabby moves to her table at the back of the room while Stella sets her stuff down at the table she still shares with Kelly and heads back to stand next to Gabby, knowing they still have nearly ten minutes before the period starts. 

She continues to tease her friend about forgetting their “date night”, but soon lets it go, moving on to teasing her about some of the new stories that had come to light during her first Lincoln Park sleepover. 

“Stella Kidd, I swear to God if I ever hear you repeat that I-...” Gabby’s threat dies off, her words halting when she looks up to find blue eyes staring back at her in clear amusement, a blush rising to her cheeks. 

“Hope I’m not interrupting something.” Matt jokes lightly, clearly picking up on the end of the conversation. 

Stella laughs, her eyes moving between the two with a knowing grin. “Nope, just saving me from another empty threat.” She teases her best friend, earning a glare from her. 

Gabby’s eyes quickly move to the iced coffee Matt was holding in one hand and she raises a brow. “Look at you, drinking that liquid gold after the constant teasing of how it will  _ stunt my growth _ .” She mocks. 

Casey chuckles shaking his head as he sets his bag down and holds the drink out to her, Stella doesn’t miss the pink that hits his cheeks. “I uh, I’m not.” 

The short-haired brunette looks at him in shock, taking the drink. “You got me coffee?” 

Casey shrugs, smiling softly and taking his seat next to her. Stella, realizing she has been completely forgotten at this point, turns to move away, shooting her friend a quirked brow before heading to the front of the row, waiting for her own partner to arrive. 

Dawson takes a sip of the drink, actually impressed to find it’s her normal order. “You remembered my order.” She comments. 

Casey’s blue eyes are shining back at her and she has to remind herself to breathe normally when he nods, a slight grin falling onto his lips. “I remember a lot of things, Gabby.”

Her throat is suddenly unbelievably dry and she is incredibly thankful when the first bell rings, forcing her to look away and giving her a moment to breathe. 

Kelly slides into the desk next to Stella moments before the bell, and she feels her mood pick up even more. He’s wearing a powder blue plain t-shirt that brings out his best facial feature and jeans slightly tighter than usual. She focuses on his face when she speaks, though.

“Good morning!” she practically chirps.

Kelly is suddenly very interested in the pencil scratches on his desk. He doesn’t respond.

“Excuse me,” she continues.

He looks up at that, pretending he didn’t notice her.

“Oh, I’m sorry were you talking to me?”

Stella squints, not getting the joke.

“I just wasn’t sure you’d want to be seen with me in public since you left me hanging after the game,” he taunts, but his playful tone relieves any anxiety Stella would have at not waiting for him.

“That’s interesting because I don’t remember saying yes,” she says after openly laughing at his statement.

“You said maybe. Which is just a yes in disguise in my book.”

“Well, welcome to mine. Where maybe means maybe and I don’t wait around for flirty football players just because they graced me with their presence at halftime,” she retaliates.

Severide nods his head slightly and grins at Stella. 

Despite the confidence of her comment, Stella can’t stop herself from grinning back. 

Dawson finishes the chapter that they were assigned to read rather quickly. She looks over, eyeing the blond boy beside her that is still finishing up and can’t help but smile. 

His hair is starting to grow out, the normally slicked back locks on the top of his head starting to fall forward a bit as his head leans down towards his book. She is caught up staring at the way his tongue pokes out as he concentrates on the words in front of him. She takes a sip of her coffee. Her heart racing from more than just the sugary caffeinated drink. She was caught off guard by him bringing her the beverage. It wasn’t that she didn’t expect the nice gestures from him, she knows Matt is very caring and sweet… it’s more the detail that went into it. 

She is reading more into it, she is sure, but the fact that he took the consideration to recognize what she liked, though she had never shared it with him. The fact that he stopped on his way into school to buy it for her and surprise her with it. She can’t help the near giddy feeling that settled into her gut at those thoughts. 

Matt clears his throat, gaining her attention and she forces herself to snap out of it as she meets his eyes. 

“Finished?” She questions quickly, hoping he hadn’t been watching her fall into her deep thoughts for too long. 

He nods, and they quickly work out the paragraph they needed to write on the chapter together. When that only takes another ten minutes before they are done, Gabby looks to the clock and sees they still have another thirty minutes left in the period. “Well, that was easy.” She mutters softly, moving to put her book and notepad away. 

When she turns back around Matt is staring at her, a nervous look covering his face that has her confused, her brow raising in question. 

“What’s up, Matt?”

Casey swallows thickly, trying to gather his thoughts, trying to make the words he wants to say come out cooler than they sound in his head. 

“I uh, I have some errands to run for the team after school. Just a few things the coach wants me to get sorted before the next game Friday.” He forces out, Gabby nodding, her confusion still evident. “I, um... I-.” Matt stops, gathering his thoughts and Gabby’s heart rate quickens. “Would you want to come with me? We could get something to eat after?”

Gabby swallows thickly, she is sure her heart is about to beat out of her chest. Matt is staring at her expectantly, his fears coming true as her silence continues. Just as he is about to tell her he was kidding, to try and play off this horribly failed attempt at asking her out she is opening her mouth. 

“Yeah.” She clears her throat, her smile growing. “Yeah, I’d like that.” 

Matt’s smile could light up a room at those words, her own shy smile growing. 

He nods, his smile unmoving now. “Okay.”

“Okay,” Gabby responds, a low laugh falling from her lips as she looks back to the table taking another sip of her coffee. 

When she looks back up her eyes fall on her best friend whose head is thrown back in laughter and she suddenly remembers. 

_ Oh shit. _ Milkshakes. 

This time she really had forgotten. 

When the bell rings signaling the end of the period Gabby is up and racing after her best friend, knowing she needed to catch her before they parted ways for their next period. She hooks her arm through Stella’s, pulling her out of the room and into the hall. Stella looks at her surprised. 

“Hey there lover girl, how’s your coffee?” Stella teases, earning a blush from her friend as she looks down at the nearly empty cup in her hand. 

“It’s good.” Gabby quickly answers. “Hey uh, what do you think about changing our milkshake date to this weekend instead? We can catch a movie, get shakes…” Gabby trails off and Stella looks at her, reading between the lines easily. 

“You did forget!” She cries exasperated. 

“I didn’t!” Gabby defends. “Or at least, this morning I hadn’t… but uh, I definitely did when I was saying yes after Matt asked me out tonight while we were in English…” She rushes out, Stella pulling away and looking at her with wide eyes. 

“Oh my God!” She nearly squeals. 

Gabby is quick to hush her, throwing a hand over her mouth. “Shut up!”

She pulls away, Stella grinning at her. “So instead of forgetting you want to ditch me for a boy.” She fakes offense, only causing Gabby to roll her eyes, about to defend her actions before Stella is cutting her off. “It’s fine, Ella. Go. Be with your boy, we can raincheck.” 

Gabby looks at her skeptically. “First off, he is not my boy.”

“Yet.” She quickly interjects, earning another unimpressed look from her friend as they come to a stop in front of Gabby’s next class. 

“Secondly, are you sure?” She questions, starting to feel bad. 

Stella nods, “Of course. Please. We both know if Matt is bringing you coffee and asking you out all in one period it means  _ something, _ you can’t not go.” She reassures. 

The first bell rings, indicating they only had another minute to get into their seats. Stella gives her a quick hug. “I promise, it’s fine. I’ll catch you later, okay?” 

Gabby nods. “You’re the best. I’ll make it up to you!” Before she is heading into her classroom. 

Stella watches her go before scurrying off to her own class. She is happy for Gabby, excited for her even… but she really had been looking forward to her girl’s night and milkshakes.

She tries to brush it off as lunch arrives, the smell of chili making the task easier. Only Matt and April sit at the table when she arrives, and she realizes they’re probably the ones she’s the least close to out of the entire group. Stella has no issues with either of them, though, and makes an effort to close the small gap.

“Hey guys!’ she starts.

“Hi Stella,” April replies with a smile as she bites into the veggie wrap she’d brought. 

Matt offers a smile.

“How was second period?” she tries again. 

“Mine was good. Nothing interesting happened though, just math,” April responds. 

Stella nods and turns to Casey.

“Same. Nothing interesting. You?” he says.

“Well, nothing big. I did have history with Erin, though, and she wouldn’t stop gushing about her and Jay. Apparently it's their anniversary or something and he gave her this necklace with their initials engraved on it. To be fair, it was pretty. But I didn’t really wanna hear about it for an entire hour, ya know?”

The mention of Jay seems to spark Matt’s attention, and he’s actually engaged in the conversation.

“Wait, Jay Halstead?” he asks, gears clearly turning in his mind.

“Mhm, I think so. Why?”

“No reason,” he says quickly.

April and Stella look up at him, clearly anticipating the truth. 

Matt concedes. “I just… I just thought that Jay and Gabby still had a thing going. I had no idea he and Erin were serious.”

“Oh, they’re serious,” April adds, “I have a couple of classes with him and she’s all he talks about. They’re cute. Plus, he lets me talk about Leslie as much as I want so it’s like a fair trade.”

Stella stares at Matt as his face goes through what seems to be confusion, relief, then settles on what Stella can only describe as pure happiness. Clearly, this is good news. She wonders for a moment if she’s close enough to Matt to joke around with him, and decides it’s worth a shot.

“Eh, I’m not that happy about it,” she mumbles.

“Hm?” Matt questions, unsure if she was talking to him.

“Just that Gabby and Jay are over. I mean, if they were still together then maybe my best friend would still have time to make it to our  _ previously planned _ girls night instead of ditching me for her date with you,” she says with a joking smile. 

Matt practically glows red at the word ‘date’. 

“Wait,” April interjects quickly, her attention peaked. “You  _ finally _ asked Gabby out?” She nearly squeals, earning a glare from the blond boy across from her.

“I-I never said it was a- How did you even-” he stammers.

April and Stella laugh at his flustered state and share a quick look acknowledging just how into Gabby Matt truly is, not that it was really ever a question before.

“Don’t worry, Blondie. It’s all good. Just bring her back in one piece.” Stella winks and Matt gulps at the insinuation. 

“Bring who back in one piece?” Shay asks, taking her place next to her girl and stealing a quick kiss. April looks absolutely smitten as soon she lays eyes on the female blonde, and Stella finds herself a bit jealous for a moment, but a smile is soon filing her face and replacing the jealousy. She wants that one day, to be so smitten by someone like these two were, but she was incredibly happy for her new friends.

“Yeah, what are we talking about?” Gabby adds, sitting down between her best friend and Matt. 

“Nothing,” Matt assures her, shooting a quick look toward Stella and April so they wouldn’t continue the teasing. 

Kelly also arrives with Leslie and Gabby, and he catches Stella’s eye before raising his eyebrows in question. 

_ Later, _ she mouths, and he nods, satisfied. 

The rest of lunch is spent laughing and sending sweet glances as the group shares their usual natural chemistry.

The next class starts far too soon, and Stella is sitting next to Kelly in science.

She’s on her second bullet point of describing the oak tree leaf in front of them when he starts speaking.

“Are you alright?”

“Yeah, why?” she asks, her eyes not leaving the page.

“Because you haven’t said a word to me since lunch, and on our way here I made at least three jokes that at least deserve a smile. And I got nothing,” he replies.

“I’m sorry,” she says distractedly, trying to end the conversation. 

“Stella,” he says sharply.

When she still doesn’t respond, Kelly places his hand on her right one, stopping her notetaking. And consequently, her breathing. Stella bites her lip at how surprisingly warm his hands are, and how calm they make her feel. Immediately, she recognizes the weight as the one on her knee from the night of the party. She can’t help but look up at him.

“Yes?”

She knows what he’s about to ask. She knows he wants to know if she’s okay, but to be honest she doesn’t have an answer. Gabby has liked Matt for such a long time, and she’s genuinely excited they get to spend time together. But girls night and milkshakes had been their thing for years, and she hadn’t even seemed upset about having to cancel. If Gabby and Matt getting closer means Gabby and her will grow apart, she isn’t sure she can get behind the idea. She’d tried to ignore it, but the thought of losing her best friend is really getting to her. 

“What’s on your mind?” he asks, softer this time.

“It’s nothing, really,” she tries once more to put it off.

“If it was nothing you wouldn’t be pouting,” he pushes.

“I’m not-” Kelly narrows his eyes at her. Stella sighs and gives in. “It’s Gabby. Well, not so much Gabby as it is me? I don’t know. We were supposed to have our girls night tonight. We used to do it once a week to make sure we spent time together but now that we’re at the same school...we haven’t done it at all. And I missed it. But she got a date with Matt and plans changed. So now I will be spending the rest of the day alone. It’s stupid, I know. I was just looking forward to it? If that makes sense.”

Kelly looks at her for a moment, and she swears she’d give a million dollars to know what he’s thinking.

“What if I took you instead?” he finally responds.

“For milkshakes? Kelly, I couldn’t ask you to do that,” she says quickly, completely surprised by the offer.

“Good thing you’re not asking then.” He smiles at her, seemingly proud of himself.

“Are you sure?” Stella actually finds herself excited at the prospect of alone time with Kelly, even though she has no idea why. It’d be nice to have a change, she decides.

“100%” he replies with confidence. 

“Okay.” She grins at him. He’d managed to actually make her feel better about this.

“Okay.” Kelly sits back in his chair. It isn’t until he removes his hand that Stella realizes he’d kept it there until she agreed. And judging by the way her heart had been fluttering since he’d said her name, maybe there is more to this than she’s allowing herself to believe.

They quickly complete the beginning observation task right before Dr. Charles resumes his position in the front of the room. He gives a fairly long lecture about plant anatomy, and Stella struggles to pay attention. Her mind is spinning with the thought of spending time outside of school with Kelly. He by no means is a replacement for Gabby, but an outing with him is certainly an upgrade from spending the afternoon alone. She wonders if he will be any different without other people around, and secretly hopes he is exactly the same. Stella realizes how much she enjoys him when the thought of having him all to herself makes her smile, along with making her heart race.

Unfortunately, her dreams are cut short moments after the bell rings. They are packing up to leave when Kelly gets a text. He stops to read it and immediately sighs. 

“Everything okay?” Stella asks.

“I’m sorry, Stella, I completely blanked.”

She blinks, unsure of what he’s referring to.

“I have dinner with my dad tonight. He’s been pushing me to spend more time with him and I told him I would.”

“Oh.” Stella tries in vain to hide her disappointment. She really hadn’t seen this coming.

“I’m sorry. If I could cancel, I would,” he explains.

“It’s all good. Another time?” she offers lightly, despite the sinking feeling in her chest.

“For sure. Thanks for understanding.” Kelly grabs the rest of his things and heads out of the room, leaving Stella alone and feeling a bit rejected. She tries to move on as she picks up her binder, but the whirlwind she just experienced makes it fairly difficult. She hopes there’s another chance to hang out with Kelly though. Now that she’s considered the idea, it feels impossible to forget.

Gabby had been insanely nervous for the majority of the day after Matt asked her out. It was all she could think about since the question left his lips during first period. She had barely gotten anything accomplished with the rest of her day and she knew she may be regretting that later tonight, or even tomorrow, but right now that is all the furthest thing from her mind. 

They had left in Casey’s old pick up truck right after school and though her nerves had been high all day and into the first few minutes of their car ride, that soon melted away. 

She forgot how much she just loved spending time with Matt, how easy he was to talk to and laugh with, and how much fun they had together. 

They had spent the majority of the afternoon goofing around at the grocery store and then the mall while Casey ran his errands for the football coach. He was in charge of the next team lunch on Friday afternoon and needed to make sure food was in order as well as the decorations he would need. 

Gabby knows that Matt is one of the co-captains on this year's team… she also knows it is something that normally the captain’s parents handle, but she hadn’t questioned it. She is just enjoying the time they are spending together. 

They had hit the grocery store first to pick out a menu that could be catered in for the team. Casey surprisingly knew more about putting a meal together than Gabby had expected him to. He is a teen boy after all, but by the end of the grocery trip they had picked out a nice meal to be catered in and Matt was swinging them through the checkout lane to pick out a bag of gummy bears and a couple of sodas before they headed back out to his truck. 

After the grocery store, things had gotten more comfortable between them quickly, that layer of shy awkwardness melting away as they drove through the streets to the mall singing along to the radio and talking away. 

By the time they pulled up they had finished off the bag of candy, they were sharing and Matt had teased her about eating all the red and green while he was left with the yellow and orange. Gabby had been quick to defend that she didn’t like the orange and yellow as much, and though they weren't his favorites either he quickly determined that he would eat the orange and yellow gummy bears for the rest of his life just to bring a smile to Gabriela Dawson’s face when he passed her a handful of just red and greens. He was determined at this point he would do just about anything to keep the smile on her face that had been there since they left school today. 

They had been able to pick out some blue and gold decorations for the team lunch after Gabby had deemed what was acceptable and what was not. Aside from the obvious reasons of just getting to spend time with her, Matt was actually really happy that Gabby was with him, he was positive he wouldn't have accomplished this all in one outing if not for her. Though the majority of their time in the mall was spent messing around and they were nearly kicked out of the store by the end of it. Gabby could not remember the last time she had laughed so hard in her entire life. 

Now as they relax in the back of Matt’s truck, the bed opened up as they sit together on the tailgate eating the burgers and fries they had picked up on their way back to Gabby’s place Matt can’t stop looking at her. Really looking at her. 

There is something about Gabriela Dawson that had always turned him into a shy stuttering kid. He’d had the biggest crush on her since middle school. They had been friends back then, and he had always been too scared to make a move and scare her off. Now though, he knows what he is feeling, what he had been feeling for a while now, is more than a crush. 

Gabby had warmed her way into his heart. They had spent a lot of time together over the years, even as they drifted apart and were in relationships that took up a lot of their time, whenever their group of friends got together they always gravitated towards each other. 

Now, as he watches her, telling a story about one of her summer ventures with Stella, the happy gleam in her eyes, the way she smiles through her words… he knows. Maybe he always had known. He is in love with Gabriela Dawson. 

He had tried for a long time to deny it. She had been with Jay or some other boy who never deserved her. She is too good for all of them; hell, she is too good for him. But it is clear to him now more than ever, it isn’t a crush that is just going away. 

Gabby looks over to him, feeling his eyes on her, a lopsided smile tugging at his lips. 

The air between them seems to settle, a calm washing over. “What?” She questions, tucking the curls behind her ear. The action pulling Matt’s attention, he noticed it was something she did often. He also noticed her naturally curly hair, it is something she didn’t have on display often anymore. Matt has fond memories of it from middle school, but lately, her hair was normally done in much larger tamed curls, or straightened smooth. He had missed this natural look on her. 

“I love your hair like that.” He finds himself commenting before he can stop himself. 

Gabby blushes brightly, tucking the hair back behind her ear once more, the messy curls losing all sense of control this late in the day. “Yeah? It’s a bit unruly.” 

Matt smiles, reaching out to tuck the curl that framed her face back once more. “I think it’s beautiful.” 

Gabby feels like all the breath leaves her lungs. The perfect mix of his words, his blue eyes, and his hand so close to her face leaving her breathless. They seem frozen at the moment. Neither makes a move to pull away as they sit side by side, nothing but the breeze and the late-night noises of her little Chicago neighborhood to keep them company. 

Matt is so lost in the moment that when his phone buzzes he nearly jumps out of his skin, inwardly cursing the small device as Gabby jumps as well, both of them finally pulling back. 

Casey mutters an apology, reaching into his pocket and pulling out his phone. He is determined to mute it and get right back to whatever moment they had been caught up in, but the message on his phone has his blood nearly running cold. His heart thudding heavily in his chest as he jumps down from the tailgate. 

“Matt?” Gabby questions, his change in demeanor catching her off guard and worrying her. His tense blue eyes meet hers and she jumps down as well. 

“I’ve got to go.” He mutters quietly. Gabby feels her heart sink, the worry in her heightening. 

“Is everything okay?” She rushes out, stepping out of the way as Matt quickly shuts his tailgate.

He barely spares her a glance, his eyes glued to his phone as he types out a message. “Yeah. I uh, I will see you tomorrow, okay?” 

She is barely able to get a response out before Matt is hopping into his truck and pulling away, leaving Gabby standing in her driveway more confused than ever before. 

Stella stares aimlessly at her ceiling, a playlist full of sad music blasting from her phone. So far, she’d had plans and they’d gotten canceled, and then a few hours later she’d had new plans and they’d gotten canceled even faster than the first ones. It had been a rollercoaster, to say the least, and she wants nothing more than to curl up under her covers and think about how lonely she feels. That is until the sound of a text muffles her music.

Stella sits up immediately, selfishly hoping Matt canceled on Gabby and they could still meet up. She is confused to see a number she doesn’t recognize pop up on her screen. 

Under it, are the words:

_ Is the milkshake offer still open _ ?

Stella smiles to herself. It’s Kelly.

_ Maybe. _

She types out as she gets up to change out of her house sweats.

_ Maybe as in maybe or maybe as in yes? _

Stella doesn’t see his response until she returns to her bed after pulling on her best skinny jeans. She laughs lightly.

_ Maybe as in yes. _

His answer is immediate.

_ Good, because I’m outside.  _

She nearly chokes on her own spit at that. He’s outside of her house? Right now?! She gets up again to look at herself in the bathroom mirror. The black tank she’d thrown on as soon as she got home would certainly not do, and Stella finds herself ravaging through her closet for something decent to wear. She settles on a thin light blue sweater to go with the tighter jeans she rarely wears. After pulling the top half of her long hair into a ponytail and throwing on silver hoops, Stella re-examines herself and gives a small nod of approval to her reflection. There’s no need to try too hard. Kelly is her friend, and they’re hanging out...as friends. She’d wear the same thing to Gabby’s house, she thinks, ignoring how untrue it is.

_ Coming. _

Stella takes a deep breath before opening her front door. She isn’t sure why she’s nervous; Kelly calms her. Everything would be fine. 

The image of Kelly waiting outside his car for her is certainly something she can get used to, and she walks up to him with a wide smile.

“Hi,” she practically chirps.

“Took you long enough,” he jokes. Stella rolls her eyes, her nerves dissolving.

Kelly opens her door and gestures for her to get in.

“What a gentleman.”

“Only for you.” Kelly winks, and Stella ducks her head to hide her blush.

The drive to Harlo Diner isn’t a long one, and Stella greatly enjoys giving Kelly orders on when and where to turn. They pull into a space near the front of the diner with laughter on their lips.

“Do you have to be so bossy?” he asks, turning to the dark-haired girl.

“Nah, but it’s more fun that way.” She gets out of the car and waits a few moments for Kelly before walking inside.

“Stella!” Mabel, the owner of the diner, calls out immediately. “I wasn’t sure if I’d be seeing you again. You change schools one time and what, you’re too good for me now?”

“Hi, Miss May. I missed you too,” Stella says warmly.

“Where is Gabriela?” the older woman asks, eyeing Severide skeptically as the two walk closer to her position behind the counter.

Mabel had known Stella and Gabby for years. She’d owned the Harlo Diner as long as they’d been going, and had grown very attached to the two girls. Their friendship had really flourished there, and Mabel had gotten the opportunity to witness it. Whether their week had been exciting or disappointing or both, Mabel heard every detail of it from the duo. The three of them developed a very close relationship after years of weekly visits. So almost a month of no contact had her fairly concerned.

“Gabby had a date. This,” Stella looks at Kelly, noting the slight discomfort on his face at Ms. May’s silent criticism, “is my friend, Kelly. Please be nice to him.”

“Oh please girl, I’m always nice. Hi Kelly, I’m Mabel but you can call me Miss May,” she introduces herself with a slight smile. 

“Nice to meet you, ma’am,” he says nervously.

“Now what’s this about Gabriela on a date? Are these boys why you two forgot all about me?” she asks the young girl.

Stella feigns shock and puts her hand over her heart.

“We could  _ never _ forget about you, Miss May. I’ve just been adjusting, ya know? And Gabby’s had a lot going on…”

Mabel raises her eyebrows and puts her hand on her hip, clearly unsatisfied.

“I’m sorry?” Stella offers sweetly.

“Mhm. Your booth’s open,” she says, walking away to another customer.

Stella laughs and heads over to a booth by the largest window in the diner, the same one she and Gabby always sit in. Kelly follows and slides in across from her. It’s the first time she’s been to Harlo’s without Gabby, and she fights the small wave of sadness that washes over her. 

“I don’t think she likes me very much.” Kelly glances at Mabel across the decently sized space.

“Nah, she’s like that with everyone. If she didn’t like you, you wouldn’t still be in here, trust me.”

“If you say so.”

“I do say so,” Stella replies confidently, and then she decides to ask the question that’s been silently bugging her since his text. “How come you canceled on your dad?”

Kelly sighs. “I wasn’t in the mood. Plus, I already had a better offer.” His deflection is fairly smooth, but it doesn’t go unnoticed.

“Not in the mood? The mood for what?” Stella gently pushes.

“Him. Why? Do you want me to go?” His question is sarcastic, but his tone borders on sincere. 

“No, of course not. I was just, trying to get to know the real you.” She means her words, even if she hadn’t expected them to come out that way.

“The real me?”

“Yeah, the boy behind the letterman jacket and the icy blue eyes.” She smirks.

Kelly laughs and dodges her statement altogether. “How long have you and Dawson been coming here?” 

She decides it’s probably best to let it go. “A few years? Gabby’s parents took us here for the first time for her thirteenth birthday, and we kept begging them to come back because I swear to you I've never had a strawberry milkshake better than the one they make here. It’s like heaven in a cup,” she explains, “and after that, we made a point of coming every week. That’s how I know Ms. May.”

“Ah, so that’s why you nearly broke down crying in science.” Kelly teases her.

“I did not!” She exclaims.

“Yes, you did.” he insists.

“Shut up.”

“You should have seen your face. I thought somebody ran over your dog or something.”

“I don’t have a dog.”

“No, you have a best friend who canceled on you, which is much, much worse,” Kelly taunts.

“I can’t stand you, you know that?” she says, holding back a laugh. 

“Sure you can’t.” He looks at her, and there’s something behind his eyes. Something soft and pure, and Stella’s heart feels like putty.

Just then, Mabel appears with one large strawberry milkshake...and two straws.

“Enjoy,” she says coolly, and Stella squints at her.

“Ms. May, I-” she starts.

“I  _ said _ , enjoy, Stella.” The woman walks away before either of the teenagers can respond.

“Sorry about her,” Stella says anxiously, “I can go get another one if you-”

But Kelly is already drinking from the straw on his side.

“Holy shit. You weren’t kidding, this is really good.”

Stella smiles wide at the joy on his face. It isn’t often, she thinks, that Kelly actually appears happy. He doesn’t usually look sad or angry or anything, just neutral. So whenever his eyes catch this light, she tries her best to remember it. 

“I know, right.” She waits patiently for him to finish to take her sip, and closes her eyes as her favorite taste in the world hits her tongue. Memories of leaning on Gabby’s shoulder, whispering important secrets in her ear, and laughing until they both cried fill her mind. They’d grown up together here. Once again, Stella shakes the feeling by shifting her focus.

“Hey, I, uh, I never got a chance to thank you,” she starts.

“For what?” Kelly asks with confusion.

“For what happened at the party. I don’t remember every detail but Gabby filled me in and I’m glad you were there. I was a mess, but that guy was a douche and way out of line. So yeah, thanks I guess.”

“No sweat. As long as you’re okay.”

Stella nods with a grin.

“But,” Kelly continues, “there is something I’ve been wondering about.”

“Yeah?”

“Your old school. What happened? You started telling me about it when Jay interrupted.”

The stillness of the moment is ruined with his question. Stella’s heart rate goes through the roof. Of all the things she thought she’d be discussing with Kelly tonight, this is certainly not one of them. The only person at Lincoln Park who knows what happened at Lakewood is Gabby, and she’d planned on keeping it that way for as long as possible. Especially from him. Telling Kelly means exposing him to an entirely new side of her, and she has absolutely no idea how he’ll react. Just the prospect of it has her biting her nails.

“Hey, you don’t have to tell me if you don’t want to. It’s up to you, Stella.” Kelly gives her an out after seeing her reaction, and she’s grateful.

But when Stella hears the softness of his voice and sees nothing but genuine concern behind his eyes, she figures now’s as good a time as ever. 

“No, it’s fine,” she begins after a deep breath, “I used to go to this really small, really conservative high school called Lakewood Prep. I never liked it there much, but my mom insisted on getting me into what she thought was ‘the best education money could buy’. I used to beg her to go to Gabby’s school so I’d have actual friends, but she never listened to me. Anyways, I probably would have stayed there until graduation, but then I uh, I fell for someone. Hard.”

She pauses, bracing herself for the rest.

“The only person I told was Gabby, and after hearing me complain for months, she finally told me I should make a move.” Stella releases a bitter laugh, knowing what comes next. “So, I did. I wrote this note professing my love and signed my name. I put it in my crush’s locker at the end of the day thinking I would finally get a chance. But when I got there the next day, everyone looked at me like I had three heads. They would whisper when I walked by and laugh when they thought I couldn’t hear. By the end of the first period, I found out that my note had made its way around the entire school, courtesy of the person I’d given it to. After that, I knew things would never be the same. I was shunned by literally everyone, even my teachers. They started grading my papers unfairly, kids in my grade would leave these terrible notes in my locker, and I just- The school year was almost over and I knew I couldn’t go back there. So I pleaded with my dad until he agreed to let me transfer to Lincoln Park for junior year.” Stella finishes with a sigh and awaits the unavoidable questioning.

Kelly had been listening silently and intently to Stella, but the ending confuses him. Something isn’t adding up. 

“I don’t mean to be insensitive, but why would everyone treat you so harshly for having a crush? Was he a bad guy or something?” he questions.

“ _ Her  _ name was Hannah, but yeah, after what she did, I’d say she’s pretty bad.” Stella forces out. She holds her breath, absolutely petrified of his reaction. 

She watches the realization set in on his face, unable to interpret how he feels. The ten second silence may as well be ten hours.

“So you like girls,” he says quietly, and after another pause, “and guys?”

Stella nods.

“You’re saying I have to compete with  _ all _ of Lincoln Park just for your attention? That doesn’t seem fair.” A smile spreads on Kelly’s face.

Her jaw drops and Stella has no idea how to react. That was certainly not the response she expected.

“So you’re okay with that? With me being bi?” she asks hesitantly. 

“Dude, of course I am. Why wouldn’t I be? You’re still Stella.” he replies with ease.

“You’re amazing, Kelly, you know that?” She feels a knot form in her throat at his instantaneous acceptance of her coming out. It really isn’t a big deal to him, and Stella doesn’t think she’s ever been this grateful in her life. She can’t imagine screwing up her friendship with him just as they’re getting into it.

“Yeah, I do. But it’s not amazing to accept you for who you are. It’s normal.” He reaches for her hand over the table, gripping it tightly. “I’m glad you told me.”

Stella wants to reach over the table and hug him tight, but she doesn’t. She just smiles and hopes the look in her eyes conveys how much she appreciates his reaction.

“You’re really something, Kelly Severide.”

“So I’ve been told. But it’s getting late, and I don’t want your parents to hate me, so maybe we should head out?” Stella knows her father was already asleep when she left around 8, and her mother wouldn’t be home from her business trip for god knows how long, but the night is going so well she doesn’t want to ruin it by stretching it out.

“Yeah, good idea.”

She leaves a 20 on the table, ignoring Kelly’s offer to pay, and waves to Ms. May on their way out.

When they get back into his truck, Kelly asks, “Milkshakes are $20 there?”

Stella laughs, “Nah, but I always leave extra for Ms. May. She deserves it.”

She’s looking out the window when she says it, so she misses the way he glances over at her with the utmost admiration in his eyes.

Kelly pulls off and once again, the ride is full of stupid jokes and loud laughter. Something has changed between the two of them, and Stella is sure it’s for the better.

rvc


	6. chapter six

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> That weight that had been sitting in her chest all morning, the weight that she had been trying so hard to push away, to mask with anger, is coming back in full force. Her frustration with the situation going on with Matt, the hot and cold she felt from him, the fight with Stella… it all suddenly feels like a lot and having him standing in front of her, holding her favorite drink that he brought unknowingly that she is having such a terrible morning. She feels the tears welling in her eyes before she can stop them. 
> 
> or
> 
> kiddson have an intense argument over a past incident, causing a riff between them that their boys can’t help but notice, and try to help with.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> HIIIII! we’re back! we are so so sorry for the impromptu break this fic took. don’t worry, it wasn’t for lack of effort or motivation, as we’re several chapters ahead and have been the entire time. but as i’m sure you’ve all noticed there’s a lot going on in the world right now. in an effort to not distract from the extremely necessary black lives matter movement in addition to me personally dealing with the emotions and difficulties that come with living as a black person in this time. we missed posting for sure but the time off was essential. as for this chapter, there’s a scene in it that was one of the first i’d ever written, even before most of the chapters. it’s a vision i had and i adore the way it turned out. as with most chapters, both dawsey and stellaride fans will be highly satisfied. again, sorry for the wait but things should actually return to normal schedule wise from now on. as always, this same fic will be posted on FF under shelby's username @/peytfan4ever. thanks so much for reading <3 (my twitter is @/annasrae and shelby's is @/shelbersmarie_ if anyone wants to reach out!)

Gabby Dawson taps her foot impatiently, as she looks to her watch once more. Normally, she is the one running late. Stella is more often than not the one having to come up to her room to retrieve her from the mirror before school. 

Today that seems to not be the case. 

Stella is supposed to be the one driving them, but she hasn’t answered Gabby’s two texts yet this morning. They still have a solid half hour before school, but Gabby wants to stop for coffee on their way and has been waiting for Stella to meet her outside their houses for five minutes now. 

Checking her watch one more time, the impatient brunette decides she is going to have to go pull her friend out of her room, a task she has yet to have to complete this year. 

Moving across the yard, she grumbles the whole time, the dewy grass wetting her converse shoes, the droplets of water hitting her bare ankles. She enters the passcode to the front door and quickly enters. 

“Hello?” She calls, though she already knows the likelihood of anyone except for her best friend being home is slim. Both Stella’s parents spend the majority of their days at work, always starting off early in the morning. 

“El?” Gabby calls, looking through the first level before heading for the stairs, “Stella?”

She moves up the stairs and down the hall, walking through the bedroom door that had become a second home. “El?” She is surprised to find her best friend sat on her bed, staring down at the phone in her hand. She huffs, settling her hands on her hips. “Stella!” She says more forcefully, dark eyes snapping up to meet hers. 

“Gabby?” She questions, looking around as if she has no idea where she is. 

“What is going on with you?” She questions. “I texted you a couple of times, and I was calling your name.”

Stella shakes her head, looking back down at her phone before looking up to her friend, unsure what to say. Gabby raises a brow, the look on her friend’s face making her own defenses rise. “What is it?” She prods, the uneasy feeling in her gut settling. 

Stella sighs, turning her phone to face her friend, showing the screen. “Hannah texted me. I don’t know how she even got my new number.” Stella trails off, setting her phone down and gnawing on her fingernails. 

Gabby’s eyes widen, understanding why her friend has been so out of it this morning. “What did she say?” She prompts quickly, that uneasiness only settling thicker in her gut at her friend’s words. 

“She wants to meet up… wants to talk I guess.” Stella says quietly. 

Gabby nods, chewing on her bottom lip as her anxiety continues to rise with the topic of discussion and all the memories it brought back. 

All the bad memories and guilt. 

“Are you going to meet her?” Gabby asks.

It’s Stella’s turn for her eyes to widen, she scoffs, getting up from the bed and moving over to her desk chair to put her shoes on. “No.” 

Gabby’s head bobs in acknowledgment. “Do you think maybe you should?” Stella’s wide eyes shoot up to her, Gabby shrugs. “I mean, maybe it’s nothing bad. Maybe she just wants to apologize.”

Stella rolls her eyes, going back to tying her shoe into place, “No offense, Gabs, but I am not taking your advice about this.”

Gabby’s eyes widen, “Uh… offense taken.” She bites back. “What the hell is that supposed to mean?” 

Stella continues to tie her shoes, “Nothing, Gabby.” She forces out between clenched teeth. Her frustration at an all-time high between the text this morning and all the memories this conversation has brought up. 

“No, if you have something to say, then say it, Stella.” Gabby pushes. 

Stella rolls her eyes, “Listen, if you want to keep passing out advice Gabby, maybe you should take your own. You pushed me to go tell Hannah how I felt and it made me the laughing stock of my school, but here you are crushing on Matt and too chicken shit to tell him how you feel! You’re no better than I am.”

Gabby’s jaw locks. “Well, at least the person I am ‘crushing on’ actually likes me back,” she bites out. 

Stella looks up at her in shock but does everything she can to not let on how much those words hurt her, instead masking it the best she can with the anger she is feeling. 

“There it is,” Gabby mutters, taking in the look on her best friend's face, the anger.

Stella looks at her confused. “There what is?”

“You, actually showing some god damn emotion about all this. How about you tell me something real, El? Because clearly, you haven’t been saying how you really feel about all this. I mean, you can’t take my advice? What the hell is that supposed to mean, huh?”

Stella stands up, throwing her arms out, her anxiety and fear this entire morning bubbling over and falling from her lips. “It means, look at where taking your advice got me last time! Running for the hills and uprooting my entire life just to follow you around!” 

Stella’s mouth snaps shut, her eyes falling closed as she realizes her own words. The look on her best friend's face letting her know she had gone too far. Gabby’s mouth, that had previously been open in shock, snaps shut, her jaw locking as she bobs her head. 

“So, all those talks about you  _ not _ blaming me, were just some bull shit to make me feel better?” She asks harshly. 

Stella sighs, shaking her head as she looks at her best friend pleadingly. “Ella, that’s not what I-...”

Gabby holds her hand up, rolling her eyes. “Save it.” She bites out, turning and walking back out the door she had just come through. After throwing her own bag over her shoulder Stella is hot on her heels. 

“Gabby, I didn’t mean it like that, I’m sorry.” She pleads, following her down the stairs. 

Gabby whips back around, and if looks could kill Stella is positive she would be six feet under; she sees the tears that have settled into her friend’s eyes, the hurt and regret that was there once more. 

“You know how terrible I felt about everything, Stella.  _ You know _ how sorry I was and what, you gave me some half-assed ‘I forgive you’ just so you could throw it back in my face later?” She says harshly, but the hurt that is in her voice cuts Stella in two. 

Stella’s face falls even further. “No! Gabby, I do forgive you, I’m sorry I shouldn’t have said…”

Gabby turns back around heading out the front door and stalking back across the yard. “Forget it, El. I’ll drive myself to school today. Wouldn’t want you to feel like you're  _ following me around _ .”

Stella runs her hands through her long black hair, frustrated with how quickly this entire morning went to hell as she watches Gabby hop into her own car and pull away. 

It’s not lost on Stella that this is the first time in nearly a month of going to school together that they have ridden separately, and though that may seem like a small thing to most, to her it feels like a huge deal. 

When Gabby pulls up to the large brick building she already knows she will be racing the clock to get into school, get to her locker, and get sat down before the second bell rings and she is collecting her first tardy of the year. 

She practically rips the keys from the ignition and throws her bag over her shoulder when she hops out of her car. Gabby is trying her best to push all of her thoughts from this morning out of her mind before they completely consume her, but honestly, they already are. She can’t stop replaying Stella’s words over and over in her head. She had thought they moved past it. She had thought she forgave her, even when Gabby couldn’t forgive herself… She feels her heart rate picking up, the mix of emotions coursing through her and she tries to shake off the heavy feeling in her chest. 

Gabby looks down for just a second as she moves quickly between all of the parked cars, but that one second is enough to have her crashing into someone. 

_ Great, another thing to make me late. _ She finds herself thinking, but as she looks up and finds blue eyes staring back at her she has to stop herself from rolling her eyes. Matt Casey. 

She had been trying to ignore him, honestly. After their date night two weeks ago things had been a little awkward. Matt had never given a real explanation for what had him racing off and leaving her standing in the middle of her driveway. He had only said that he got a message from his mom to get home… and while Gabby had believed him, to an extent, she was still unimpressed with his hasty retreat. 

He’d been doing what he could to make it up to her, but Gabby had been distant. Their night together had only proven to her further how much she really liked him… and it was scary not knowing where his head was at. She had told Stella this morning that her feelings for the boy she was crushing on were reciprocated, but honestly, she had no idea if that was true or if Matt was just being her friend. She really likes Matt, but she isn’t naive enough to think he feels the same way. If he does, wouldn’t he have made a move by now? Not just stayed her friend? Hell, even their  _ date _ two weeks ago could have been passed off as just friends. 

“Woah, Gabby. Don’t want to go spilling your coffee.” His teasing words pull her from her racing thoughts, and her face screws up in confusion. It’s then she notices the large iced coffee in his hand.  _ For her _ , she quickly realizes. She had forgotten she didn’t get the chance to go get coffee this morning like she had wanted… because she and Stella had fought. 

That weight that had been sitting in her chest all morning, the weight that she had been trying so hard to push away, to mask with anger, is coming back in full force. Her frustration with the situation going on with Matt, the hot and cold she felt from him, the fight with Stella… it all suddenly feels like a lot and having him standing in front of her, holding her favorite drink that he brought unknowingly that she is having such a terrible morning. She feels the tears welling in her eyes before she can stop them. 

Matt’s blue eyes widen, fear taking over him. “Hey, Gabs, are you okay? Did I hurt you?” He is immediately questioning, thinking their run-in had hurt her. Gabby shakes her head, sucking in a breath, trying to calm herself, but Matt’s worried eyes are only sending her further into the emotions she was desperately trying to hold in. His eyes turn more concerned as he rests a hand on her shoulder. “Hey, what’s going on?” He asks softly and Gabby is wrapping her arms around him in a tight hug. 

If the blond boy is shocked, he quickly covers it, wrapping his arms around her back and holding her close. She feels him lean forward and then both arms are around her, one cradling her head while the other rubs up and down her back and she knows he must have set the beverage down on the car behind them. 

“Sh, it’s okay.” She hears him soothe as she shakes with a cry. The first bell rings, but Matt makes no moves to go, and she finds herself settling comfortably into his embrace, letting his arms around her soothe her in a way she hadn’t expected. She feels him press a kiss to the top of her head, through her curls, curls she had been wearing more and more the past two weeks since he had mentioned how much he liked them… though she would never admit that. 

When the second bell rings she is still tucked into Matt’s strong embrace, her tears finally gone, but neither making any move to leave the parking lot, let alone the other’s arms. 

Matt’s hand is still running a soothing pattern up and down her back and she is so lost in it that she barely hears him talking at first. “You okay?” 

Gabby nods, her head moving against his chest. “Yeah.” She whispers, finally pulling herself away. Matt hates to admit how much he immediately misses the contact. 

Gabby smiles shyly, tucking her hair behind her ear. “Thanks, Matt,” she murmurs softly. 

He smiles, looking her over. “You want to talk about it?” He offers gently. 

Gabby bites her bottom lip, debating his offer. “Stella and I had a fight this morning.” She offers, “It was kind of rough, and I’ve been…” Gabby stops herself, she can’t admit how much her own thoughts of him had also consumed her. “...I’ve had a lot on my mind, so then all that happened, it just... It just all felt like too much.” She tells him, and Matt nods understandingly. 

“I’m sorry.” He tells her sincerely. “You and Stella, I'll never fully understand you two’s bond I am sure, but I do know you two have way too strong of a friendship to let one fight uproot it all.” Gabby nods, taking in his words that she knows to be true. “...and I know I am no Stella or Shay… but I am always here for you too.” He tells her, and she can’t help but match his soft smile at those words. 

Suddenly she can’t remember why she was distancing herself from him at all… 

“I know, Matt. Thank you… and thanks for the coffee, too. That was very sweet of you.” 

It’s his turn to nod shyly at her words. He grins, “Of course… you ready to go in?” He questions, giving her the option to take another minute. 

Gabby sighs, almost forgetting they were already late for their first period. She looks in the window of the car behind him, taking in her appearance and wiping under her eyes, hoping to regain some semblance of composure amongst her peers. She is suddenly very happy they are late and the parking lot was nearly completely empty by the time she had run into him. 

“Now that I look a mess? Yeah, sure.” She jokes lightly. 

Matt shakes his head at her, laughing softly as he reaches for her coffee and hands it back to her. “You look beautiful.” 

Gabby pauses at his words, feeling her heart rate pick up once more as they head for the building. “I’m sorry for kind of unloading on you back there.” She says, suddenly anxious over how she had broken down in front of him, a sight anyone very rarely saw. 

Matt looks back at her, seeing the clear hesitation and nerves coursing through her. He wraps an arm around her shoulder as they head through the front doors and down the hall of the school. “Don’t mention it. That's what friends are for Gabby.” He offers, pressing another kiss to the top of her head. 

While her heart rate speeds at his touch, her stomach sinks once more at his words,  _ friends. _

Stella sits anxiously in the front row of English III, waiting to see Gabby after the way they left things this morning. She fidgets in her seat, barely sparing Kelly a “good morning” when he takes his seat next to her, her eyes trained on the door, but as the first… and then the second bell rings and her friend is nowhere in sight, her heart sinks. 

“You okay?” Kelly asks, just as Mrs. Boden is getting up in front of the classroom. 

Stella simply nods, not meeting his eyes. “Fine.”

She’s lost in her own thoughts, her mind full of her fight with Gabby this morning and one comment specifically. Of course, she’d hated opening fire on her best friend that way, and the idea that she has no idea how to fix it is absolutely petrifying. This morning hadn’t just been an argument; she’d brought up what is likely the most sensitive part of their friendship and shoved it in Gabby’s face. 

Stella is furious with herself for hurting her, but that anger doesn’t silence the words ringing in her mind.  _ At least the person I am crushing on actually likes me back _ . Does Gabby know something she doesn’t? Had Kelly told her his true feelings about Stella? That they could never be anything more than friends, that Stella isn’t attractive enough, funny enough, experienced enough? Those thoughts are enough to scare her, let alone the fact that she is finally facing what she has tried to deny; Kelly means so much more to her than just a friend. Admitting those feelings is hard enough, but if Kelly doesn’t feel the same way? She isn’t sure what she’ll do. Gabby’s comment was somehow both so open-ended and sharp that Stella has no idea what to make of it. She feels uncomfortable and scared and a million other things that make her want to run home to her bedroom and lock the door. She’s imagining the ways she can realistically get out of class when Mrs.Boden’s words finally catch her attention. 

“Well well well, I hope you two have a great excuse for being late this morning.” 

Stella’s eyes snap up, finding Gabby and Matt stepping through the door and heading to their seats. Stella didn’t think it was possible, but her heart sinks even further when she takes in her best friend. To anyone else, it may not be as obvious, but to Stella, it was more than clear that Gabby had been crying moments ago. 

“Damn, what did Casey do to Dawson?” Kelly teases lightheartedly, hoping to break through the clearly deep thoughts Stella is having and force a smile. 

If anything, his words seem to have the opposite effect and the girl next to him seems to sink further into herself. Kelly can’t stand seeing her like this. The two weeks since their milkshake outing had been filled with fun and closeness. He calls her nearly every night after practice, and they spend the evening together despite being miles apart. He listens as Stella talks about her day, her parents, her likes and dislikes, and tries to oblige her when she complains that he doesn’t talk enough about himself. A closer bond has formed between the two, and he’s incredibly grateful for it. Getting to know Stella is one of the most captivating things he’s ever done. He’s picked up on how she bites her nails when she’s nervous, and that she always answers the phone with “Hi”, never “Hey” or any other greeting. And he secretly hopes she’s reserved it just for him. Needless to say, seeing Stella sad and not knowing why is taking its toll.

Stella barely hears the boy beside her talking, until his hand on hers pulls her from her deep thoughts, the familiar weight grounding her as always. She looks at where they’ve connected and lets out a sigh. She wants this. She wants  _ them _ . The day they can hold hands casually, and not because Kelly needs to bring Stella back to earth, will be a great one. But after what Gabby said this morning, she isn’t sure it will ever come. Stella’s been thinking more and more about what it would be like to date Kelly with each passing day. Spending evenings with him in her room instead of on her phone, laying her head on his chest, and feeling the rest of the world fade away. At this point, though, her fantasy seems completely unrealistic. And before she could even consider making a move with Kelly, she needs to repair her relationship with Gabby.

“Just tell me if you’re okay and I will drop it.” He offers finally, interrupting her thoughts. 

Stella finally looks up at him, and Kelly is only more convinced she is the farthest thing from okay, “I'll tell you later, yeah? I just can’t talk about it right now.” He hears the emotion creep into her voice and quickly nods, running a soothing hand over her back as he drops it and goes back to working on the paper in front of him, unable to stop himself from sparing a concerned glance her way every few minutes. 

Severide takes a large gulp of his water as he stands in front of his gym locker. They had just finished football practice twenty minutes ago, and he is in desperate need of a shower and some sleep. He’s exhausted, but this practice had been one of their best. He had been optimistic at the beginning of this season, but now he is even more so. He has a feeling they can go all the way if they just keep up the pace they had set. 

The majority of the team is already making their way out of the locker room and home, but Kelly is hanging back, waiting for Casey to finish his chat with the coach before he heads for the showers. 

Like clockwork, Casey makes his way into the locker room, heading straight to his own locker. “Hey man.” Kelly greets, clasping his shoulder as he walks by. “Hell of a practice today.”

Casey grins. “Sure was. Coach was proud.” He comments. 

Kelly nods, his smile unmoving. “Good. He should be.” 

Matt nods, going back to looking through his locker and gathering his clothes to shower. Kelly looks around, happy to see they are alone. “Hey uh, I never got a chance to mention it this morning…” Kelly trails off and Casey looks at him curiously. “You and Dawson?” He questions. 

Casey shakes his head, looking back to his locker and ignoring the question causing his brunette friend to sigh. “Listen, I just wanted to make sure she was okay. She seemed upset this morning, and Stella was upset too…” 

Matt turns back to him, eyeing him curiously. “Gabby’s fine, just a rough morning.” He says simply, not wanting to share any information that she may not want out there, “I uh, was actually going to go check on her later.” He comments. 

Kelly grins, he has a teasing comment on his lips about Casey checking on his girl, but any comment he had dies on his lips when the blond boy pulls his shirt over his head and Kelly’s eyes fall to the black and blue discolored skin on his side. 

“Damn, Casey. Did you get hit during practice?” He exclaims, noticing the way the bruises are wrapped from his side to his back.

Matt looks down at his skin, swallowing thickly. He hadn’t realized it had bruised. “I uh,- yeah. It must’ve been from practice.” He comments nervously, quickly looking away from his side and back to his locker, grabbing his towel and going to move to the showers. 

Kelly stops him, his eyes turning serious, his jaw clenching as he realizes. “That’s not from practice, is it?” 

Matt avoids his gaze, looking over Kelly’s shoulder as they stand face to face. “It’s nothing, Sev.” He says forcefully, hoping his friend will drop it. 

Kelly scoffs. “That’s not nothing, Matt.” He fires back, pointing to the bruising. “How long has it been going on this time?” 

Casey’s eyes snap to his, a fire in his eyes. “I said it’s nothing. Drop it, Kelly.” He bites out, pushing past his friend and heading for the showers. Ignoring Kelly calling his name. 

Severide sighs heavily, frustration taking over as he kicks at the locker in front of him. He had noticed his friend distancing himself lately. One second he was good, the next he was off in his own world, or racing home. He should have known what was happening. There was only ever one explanation for this situation, and unfortunately, it was one Kelly knew well. 

Alan Casey is back in his son's life, wreaking havoc like he always does. 

Gabby sits in the middle of her bed, music playing from her phone, and homework spread out in front of her. Homework she can not bring herself to concentrate on, no matter how much she had tried over the last couple of hours. This morning’s events all playing on a loop in her head. She hadn’t talked to her best friend all day. She’d made a point of skipping lunch, not being able to face her quite yet… and though it had only been a little over twelve hours since their fight and following silence took place, Gabby finds herself missing her best friend. 

A knock on her door frame has her looking up, and while she expected to find one of her parents, maybe even Stella… the last person she ever expected to see standing in her doorway, let alone in her house at all, is Matt Casey. 

“Casey?” She questions, the shock in her voice evident. 

He smiles, offering a little wave. “Hey, Gabby.”

She swallows thickly, suddenly feeling underdressed in her sleep shorts and t-shirt. Her room, though she had just cleaned it, seems to be too dirty, and childlike, though realistically she knows that isn’t the case. Having Matt Casey in her room unannounced has her mind racing. She shifts nervously. “Hey, uh… What are you doing here?” 

Matt shrugs, “You were upset today. I wanted to check on you.” He says, as if it’s the most obvious thing in the world; her heart soars. “I uh, you’re Mom let me in. I hope that’s okay?” He questions, suddenly nervous as well. 

Gabby can’t help but smile, tucking her hair behind her ear. “Yeah, uh, of course.” She shifts on her bed, moving to sit cross-legged and pulling some of her books out of his way so he can sit. 

Matt shifts on his feet nervously, suddenly very aware that he is standing in Gabriela Dawson's bedroom before he comes to sit on the end of the bed where she has cleared a spot for him. 

“How are you?” Casey asks, looking her over thoughtfully, images of her so upset earlier in the day still fresh in his mind. 

“I’m alright.” She sighs, “Stella and I… we really don’t fight often at all. So, when we actually do, it hits a little harder.”

Matt nods, giving her a sympathetic smile. “I’m sorry. You two still haven’t talked, I take it?” 

Gabby shakes her head, gnawing on her bottom lip. “No. I’ve been kind of avoiding her.” She explains, letting a beat of silence pass before she meets his eyes timidly. “I uh, I’m sorry again, for this morning, breaking down like that.”

Casey shakes his head, cutting off her apology. “Don’t mention it. I told you, that’s what I am here for. I’ll always be here for you, Gabby.” He tells her sincerely, and the look in his eyes nearly has her heart-stopping. She forces herself to nod, words not coming so easily. 

After a few beats of silence, Gabby looks away, shaking her head and deciding to change the subject. “I’m surprised my mom let you in.” She teases. “They aren’t really the biggest on boys in the house, especially on a school night.”

Casey chuckles, “I guess I’m just charming like that.” He jokes and though she rolls her eyes, she knew just how true his words were. 

“Yeah right.” She quips. 

“What, you’re telling me Jay was never allowed in on a school night?” He teases back. 

Gabby narrows her eyes at him, “Not really, no.” She fires back seeing a surprised look fall on the blond boy’s face. “Besides, that’s over.”

Casey nods, letting silence fill the air while he tries to find the way to word the question he has had since the beginning of the school year, knowing now was likely the best opening he would get. “So, that’s over?” Gabby’s eyes move up to him. “You and Jay?” He prompts, earning a nod from the brunette. 

“Yeah, we officially ended it this summer. Or I did, but it was for the best.” She comments. 

“What made you decide to call it quits?” He asks, his throat tightening when she meets his eyes once more, her brown eyes staring deep into his blue ones, unable to look away. 

Gabby shifts nervously but keeps her gaze locked on his. “I just finally realized he wasn’t what I was looking for.” 

Matt swallows thickly, the tension in the air thickening. “Did you find what you were looking for?”

Gabby nods, “Yeah, I did. I think it was always there.” she tells him, her voice low, her eyes still locked to his. 

Neither of them moves, their hearts hammering in their chests. 

A phone rings, both their eyes snapping away from the others, Gabby reaches for hers, but shakes her head, “It’s not me.” She says quietly, her voice suddenly feeling like it had left her after their stare. 

Matt reaches into his pocket, pulling his out, his brows furrowing as he pulls it to his ear. “Hey...Mom?” Gabby looks up at the concern that clouds his voice. He stands up from her bed. “Hey hey, take a breath. I’m on my way home.” He soothes, Gabby sits up straighter, watching Matt’s spine straighten. “I’ll be right there, just lock the door.”

Matt hangs up and Gabby looks at him, concern shining in her eyes. “Matt? Is everything alright?” 

His eyes snap to her as if he is suddenly realizing the one-sided conversation she heard, he swallows thickly, plastering a smile onto his face that doesn’t meet his eyes. “Yeah, it’s good. I have to go.” He comments, moving to her door. 

She calls his name once more, he shifts anxiously but turns back to her. 

Gabby looks him over, seeing the tension in his body, the nerves. It’s something she recognizes from their date weeks ago. She wants to ask him if he is okay. She wants him to let her in on whatever is going on in his life that has him so hot and cold… but she doesn’t want to intrude, so instead, she offers him a small smile, sighing heavily. 

“You know I’m always here for you too, right?” She questions, watching as his eyes soften. “For anything. Whatever it is. I’m here.” She continues, wanting to make sure he understood her. 

Matt nods, forcing a small smile. He knows her words are true, but he also knows this isn’t a part of his life he ever wants Gabby to have to deal with. 

“I know, Gabs.” He tells her, before offering a small wave and disappearing out her door almost as quickly as he had come. 

Stella calls out to her parents as soon as she gets home, but to no surprise, she is alone. Again. 

After bolting to her room and slamming the door behind her, Stella throws her phone on the bed and barely gets to the bathroom before she bursts into tears. The weight of the day is heavier than imaginable on her shoulders, and she hadn’t realized the depth of the way she feels. Stella hadn’t meant a single word that she said to Gabby, not one. But seeing Hannah’s name come up on her phone brought back a wave of emotions she didn’t even know she had anymore. Anger and embarrassment and frustration and  _ regret _ , so much regret, boiled over and spewed itself onto anyone in a five-mile radius. And because of it, she may have cost herself the closest relationship she’s ever had. Everything crumbles down around her, and Stella can’t remember the last time she’d felt this lonely. 

She puts her hands over her ears like she always does when she’s overwhelmed, and slides down the bathroom wall. Needless to say, the outside world no longer exists. There is only Stella and her stupid mistakes and short temper. 

Until her phone rings. 

The sound is so loud and shrill that Stella can’t block it out, so she gets up to turn it off. She presses the power button without even checking who called, silencing it. It isn’t Gabby; not enough time had passed for either of them to cool down enough to talk again. She is making her way back to the bathroom when the phone rings again, and with a grunt of frustration, she snatches up the phone without looking at the caller ID and answers just to shut up the person on the other end. 

“What?!”

“Stella?” the voice asks. It’s Kelly. Stella brings her hand to her temples, unsure of how to continue. “Are you okay?”

Stella sniffs..

“Yeah, yeah I’m good. What’s up?”

“You don’t sound good.” His response is cautious.

“I’m fine. Why did you call?” She pushes, wanting desperately to end the conversation.

“I… I just wanted to talk to you. But clearly this isn’t a good time.”

“You’re right. It’s not.” Her tone is sharp, and maybe she’ll apologize tomorrow but at the moment she needs him to leave her alone

Silence.

“Stella, are you-” He isn’t getting it.

“I’m fine, Kelly.” She hangs up.

Five seconds pass before he calls again. Stella debates not answering, but odds are he won’t stop until she does. Kelly certainly isn’t one to give up. So, she picks up with a heavy sigh. 

“I said I was-”

“Nope. It’s my turn to talk.” He sounds light, but very serious.

Stella bit her lip, his words taking her by surprise.

“I’ll be there in 30.”

“Why?” She swallows, baffled.

“Because we’re going to school.”

Stella takes the phone away from her face to check the time. 

“What? Kelly, I’m not doing that. It’s 9:00 at night.”

“And?”

“And school is closed. Why would we go there?”

“To see the real me.”

Stella sighs, remembering her use of those words toward him weeks ago. She thinks about all the little moments where she’s seen Kelly genuinely smile. Or when he talks about his mom or Shay and she can see his icy blue eyes melt. The way his voice gets soft when he talks about his art. It’s an offer she can’t refuse, and he knows it.

“Fine.” She ends the call.

It doesn’t ring again this time, and she goes into the bathroom to look at herself in the mirror and immediately cringes. Red spiderwebs discolor her eyes and smudged mascara really completes the messy look. With makeup wipes and a cold splash of water, she deems herself presentable enough to leave the house. If Stella had been thinking clearly she would have realized it is the first time she’d hung out with just Kelly since realizing her feelings, but thoughts of hurting Gabby and the overwhelming desire to not be alone right now takes precedence. She grabs a grey hoodie from the closet and makes her way to the door.

Kelly is leaning against the front door of his truck the way he always does when she steps outside, and she can’t help but notice how attractive he looks in the moonlight. He’d been looking down at his phone and immediately smiles at the sight of Stella. She’d be lying if she said her heart didn’t flutter when he looks at her like that. Like he missed her. He comes off as soft, approachable, sweet. And Stella finds herself fighting the urge to run into his arms and let herself drown in his scent of cedar and gasoline. Instead, she slides past him and gets into the truck silently. The car ride is quiet, and Stella watches the world roll by outside of the window with an ache in her heart. They arrive at school in what feels like seconds.

“Now what?” she asks after they get out.

“Now, you come with me,” he says in a playful tone, and Stella notices his hand twitch at his side. He begins to walk instead and Stella follows behind him, completely clueless as to where they are going.

They spend a couple of minutes in silence on the way there, and Stella appreciates it. She doesn’t really want to talk yet, and he picks up on that. Just being around him is enough for now. Finally, they stop in front of the art building, and Stella stares.

“You know it’s locked, right?” she offers.

He doesn’t respond, pulling out a bobby pin instead. Stella watches intently as he picks the lock in under a minute and holds the door open for her. She scoffs and enters, lacking the energy to ask him where he learned to do that. He leads her to a room that looks like a huge storage area. Paintings and drawings of all kinds line the walls and fill dozens of boxes. Some are black and white, some incredibly vibrant, some huge, some small. There’s pottery and canvases and paper and every other art type Stella has heard of, and some she hasn’t. She is fascinated.

“This is... “ she starts.

“Yeah, I know,” Kelly finishes, his eyes are wide as he scans the room as if it is his first time seeing it. 

“Is it all-”

“Mine? Hell no. This is where all the leftover pieces go after the art students graduate if they don’t take them home. But it is where I keep my drawings. If I kept them at home, my mom would find them and frame them on the walls.”

Stella chuckles at how horrified Kelly would be.

“There it is,” Kelly says, suddenly looking right at her.

“There what is?” she asks, confused

“Your smile.”

Stella opens her mouth to respond but closes it again, an undeniable blush spreading on her cheeks.

“Anyway,” Kelly continues, “I thought I’d finally show you the side of me no one else really gets to see.”

“And what makes you so sure I wanna see it?” Stella says jokingly.

“You’re here, aren’t you?”

She swallows, once again not having a response. Kelly pulls up two stools from a nearby wall and gestures for Stella to sit. He grabs a large box of mainly pencil drawings with a couple of paintings and exhales.

“This is me.” He begins with a drawing of a peaceful backyard with an old-fashioned tire swing attached to a huge tree. “When I was a kid, like a little kid, my dad used to actually be around. And one day I came home from school and he’d tied a rope to the tree behind the house and put this tire on it. And at the time, it was the best thing I’d ever seen. Everything looked huge and fun and I just- I know it doesn’t sound like much, but it meant the world to me. Every afternoon for years I went out to that tire swing and imagined I could swing so high I’d just keep going into the clouds. Then, we moved here and I never saw it again.” 

Stella is speechless. She’d never seen Kelly be that open and honest, that vulnerable. He looks up at her with worry in his eyes, like he doesn’t think she likes it. 

“I love it, Kelly. It’s beautiful.” Her sincere tone convinces him, and Kelly smiles. He moves on to another drawing, this one of a deeply cracked mirror. 

“My dad broke this when my mom told him she wanted a divorce. It was in the hallway outside of their room downstairs and the shattering sound was so loud it woke me up from my room on the second floor. My mom said he was just angry and hit the first thing he saw, but I think he couldn’t bear to look at himself anymore.”

Stella sucks in her breath.

“Kelly, I’m-”

“No, it’s fine. I’m fine. I’m better off without him.” His tone sounds like he wants to say something more, but he holds back. Stella figures he just doesn’t want to talk about it, but the truth is he doesn’t want to make her feel any worse.

They continue like that for what feels like forever, in the best possible way. Kelly tells Stella all kinds of stories about his childhood, his family, his old friends. She is so busy listening she doesn’t even stop to ask herself why she cares so much, why every detail she learns about Kelly’s life makes him that much more lovable to her. She gets so caught up in picture after picture that she nearly forgets why they were there. Until he gets to a picture he’d drawn of the school building.

“I feel like this one is pretty clear. I mean, I met the most important people in my life here. The team, Matt, Shay… you,” he says the final word so softly that Stella barely hears it.

But she does hear it. And almost immediately she begins to cry. Kelly doesn’t notice, though, as he was pointedly avoiding looking at Stella after his comment, and he launches into a story about his first day at Lincoln Park.

“So, the bell rings and I’m standing in the middle of the hallway with-”

“Gabby and I got into a fight.” Stella cuts him off. 

Kelly looks up with his eyebrows knit together and Stella’s first thought is how cute he looks when he is worried. She sees his hand twitch at his side again, and pushes away the thought that he wanted to wipe her tears off of her face. She does it instead, but they keep falling.

“We got into a fight about Hannah and I said some  _ really _ fucked up things to her. Then she said some really shitty things to me and god, Kelly, I may have just lost my best friend in the entire world and I have no idea how to fix it.”

Kelly places the drawing back into the box and moves his stool so close to Stella’s that their knees touch.

“You… are one of the best people I know, Stella Kidd. Whatever you said, it was in the moment and I’m sure you didn’t mean it. Plus, Gabby’s a hothead like me. Once she chills out, this will blow over. I swear.” He tries to comfort her with things he knows to be true.

“I don’t know, Kelly. I’ve never seen her that pissed at me. I hurt her. Bad.”

“The worst things I’ve ever said to anyone, I’ve said to Shay. Best friends fight, El. It’s normal. And you’re definitely not a bad person because of it. She knows your heart, just like you know hers.”

Stella searches Kelly’s ocean eyes for any sign of deceit or pity. Any indication that he was lying to make her feel better, but she comes up dry.

“Yeah?” she asks quietly.

He grins. “Yeah. In fact, I think it’s time I showed you my favorite drawing I’ve ever done.”

Stella sniffles. “Why now?”

“Save the best for last,” he says as if it is the most obvious thing in the world.

Kelly hops off of the wooden stool, bent over the box and gingerly went through each drawing one by one, clearly looking for one he values above the others. Finally, he pulls out a canvas slightly larger than most of the others. It is a drawing of a girl with curly and plentiful hair. Her locks take up the majority of the space, and is filled with so much detail Stella feels as though she can run her fingers through it. The girl’s eyes are closed tight and the combination of her open mouth and the hairbrush she holds just below her chin makes it clear she is in the middle of singing a song she loves. A small beauty mark lay on her left cheek, right above her laugh line. Her eyebrows are full and eyelashes long. The girl is Stella, but impossibly more beautiful.

“Oh, my god. Kelly, I-” She remembers that moment well. They’d been on FaceTime late one night and she’d been just tired enough to do something as silly as belt along to her favorite song. His laughter kept her going, and she ended up singing the song in its entirety, feeling completely safe with him watching. Stella looks up at him now, realizing he is somehow sitting closer to her than before, and sees a glint of something in his eyes. Something intangible and intimate. Something unbelievably raw. Something real.

“Do you like it?” he sounds impossibly sincere, and Stella knows she has to do this before she loses her nerve.

She reaches for the picture and gently takes it from him, setting it on top of the box. She opens her mouth to speak and closes it again, refusing to ruin the moment. Before she can make another move, Kelly’s calloused thumb was swiping across her cheek, wiping the tears she'd forgotten were there. 

“I love it,” she whispers, noticing the increasingly small gap between their faces.

Kelly’s eyes flick down to her lips, and she knows the same thought was going through his mind.

Her heart pounds so loudly she knows he can hear it in the otherwise silent room. This is it. The moment she’d secretly waited weeks for. She can finally give in to the urges she’d been fighting for so long. Kelly gave her a soft smile like he is admiring art. Stella bites her lip as he leans in. Yeah, this is it.

She closes her eyes completely as she feels him close the gap. The moment has finally come, to satiate her silenced desires, to kiss the boy she has incredibly strong feelings for, when the door bursts open.

“What are you two doing in here?!” A custodian yells at the sight of them. 

The teenagers immediately jump apart, the sanctity of the moment destroyed. They scramble to return everything to its proper place, speeding past the older man and his cleaning supplies all the way to Kelly’s car. Stella offers a rushed and mumbled apology on their way out, refusing to consider how much trouble they can get in for what they’ve done. A few minutes of silence pass as Kelly drives her home before Stella bursts into laughter. This was by far the riskiest thing she’s done in her entire life, and she hadn’t even realized it because she was with Kelly. The craziness of it begins to settle in, and she loses it.

“What did we just do?” she asks between breaths.

“Something fun. You should try it sometime,” Kelly’s smile is wide as he glances over at her, and when they’re on an open road, he gets the opportunity to really look at the first person he’d ever shown his art collection to, the girl he is absolutely fascinated by.

Stella’s eyes are wide with excitement, and she’s looking out of his window as if it’s an entirely new world. He’d definitely accomplished his goal of getting her mind off of things. If only everything else had gone the way he planned it...

Gabby lays down in bed that night lost in thought, her mind far too clouded with thoughts of the blond boy to think of anything else. 

There is something going on with him. Something she can’t understand but worries her to her core. She wants to be there for him. She wants to be the person he came to when things got tough. She wants to be his person…

She can’t stop thinking about him. About his smile, about his eyes, about the way he makes her feel. How being in his arms this morning was one of the best feelings she had ever experienced, how he can soothe her with just his hold, and make her feel safe and secure. 

He makes her feel things she had never felt before. With Jay, it had never been like this… it had been fun and intense at times, but never this. Never this all-consuming feeling of… love. 

Her eyes widen at that thought alone. She isn’t in love… she can’t be in love. She had never even kissed the guy. It’s just a crush… that’s all. He is her friend, she cares about him… but the more and more she thinks about it, the more and more she realizes. 

She is in love with Matt Casey. 

Gabby realizes maybe she always has been. There was always something more there. Always a deep connection. 

Her mind is spinning. 

She jumps out of her skin when she hears a knock, her eyes flashing to her closed door and her brows furrowing. She sits up and is about to move to her door when the knock comes again and her eyes flash to her window, finding her best friend’s eyes staring back at her. 

Gabby moves over to it quickly, pulling the lock and pushing the window up. 

She hadn’t talked to her best friend all day, their fight still fresh, but she can’t help but push that aside as she stares at the girl in front of her. Her mind is still full of thoughts of Matt and before she knows it words are falling from her mouth...

“I think I am in love with Matt.”

“Kelly almost kissed me.”

  
  



	7. chapter seven

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> gabby finally finds out the truth about matt’s home life, meanwhile stella and kelly discuss what happened in the art room. (aka angst angst angst)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hi!! aren’t you glad we updated on time ;). i won’t lie, this isn’t a super upbeat one, but it makes a lot of things clear that i think you all have been wondering about. there’s not much more i can say without spoiling, so enjoy! as always, this same fic will be posted on FF under shelby's username @/peytfan4ever. thanks so much for reading <3 (my twitter is @/annasrae and shelby's is @/shelbersmarie_ if anyone wants to reach out!)

_ She jumps out of her skin when she hears a knock, her eyes flashing to her closed door and her brows furrowing. She sits up, and is about to move to her door when the knock comes again and her eyes flash to her window, finding her best friend’s eyes staring back at her.  _

_ Gabby moves over to it quickly, pulling the lock and pushing the window up.  _

_ She hadn’t talked to her best friend all day, their fight still fresh, but she can’t help but push that aside as she stares at the girl in front of her. Her mind is still full of thoughts of Matt and before she knows it words are falling from her mouth... _

_ “I think I am in love with Matt.” _

_ “Kelly almost kissed me.” _

Gabby helps Stella in through the window, and now they both lay under the covers, an awkward foot of space between them as they stay quiet, neither sure what to say. This isn’t their first fight, far from it, but this is one of the first where they had actually fought over something more than just being annoyed with each other. This was the first fight that actually went deeper. 

This fight brought up insecurities that they both had from the past and present. This wasn’t something they can brush off as easily as before and neither is sure what to do with that. 

“You really kissed Severide?”

“You’re in love with Matt?” 

They both speak at the same time, their heads turning to face each other as they realize, both biting back a smirk. 

“I didn’t kiss Kelly. We didn’t kiss at all actually…” Gabby’s brows furrow, turning her head once more, a question on her lips that Stella quickly answers. “I said  _ Kelly _ almost kissed  _ me _ … or at least I think he did.” She trails off, unsure of herself now… had her mind played tricks on her?

No, Kelly had definitely leaned in, just as she had right before they were interrupted and hollered at. 

“What were you doing in the art room so late at night anyway?” Gabby questions, her eyes cast up to the ceiling once more. Stella gnaws on her bottom lip.

“Uh, he was trying to make me feel better,” she says softly, those words hanging heavy once more. Gabby doesn’t say anything, simply nodding, crossing her arms over her chest as she stares upward, unable to meet her friend’s eyes. “I’m really sorry for this morning, Ella,” Stella whispers, the emotion creeping into her voice before she can control it. “I never meant to hurt you like that. I was just stressed, and scared and…”

“Do you really not forgive me?” Gabby breathes out, cutting her off, “You said you did… back when it happened, but today…” Gabby stops again, the fear that she had held onto all day tumbling out of her mouth before she could stop it. Her vulnerable eyes meet her friends' equally sad ones. “You know I never meant for everything that happened when I told you to put yourself out there. You know I would have never encouraged it if I know what she would do I-” Gabby trails off once more, the guilt eating away at her again. 

Stella cuts her off, fully turning to face her now. “I know, Ella. I know.” She soothes. “I don’t blame you. I’m so sorry for everything I said this morning. That wasn’t fair to throw back at you just because I was angry.” 

Gabby swallows thickly, nodding as she looks back up to the ceiling afraid to meet her eyes. “I’m still sorry. For all of it. What happened then, what happened this morning. I’m still so sorry I ruined your life, El.” 

Gabby’s words take Stella by surprise, not even realizing just how much guilt her friend still carried from what happened to her and the role she played in it. 

“Gabby.” Stella prompts, forcing her friend to meet her eyes in the darkroom, once she knows she has her attention she continues. “You did not ruin anything. You may have encouraged me telling Hannah how I felt, but you did it with my best interest in mind. You had no idea what would happen, neither of us did. I  _ don't blame you _ for any of this. Besides, I think if anything you made my life better. You pushed me to be myself, because you love me and wanted me to be free, and even if it didn’t work out, you still gave me that. I can’t blame you for that, not one bit. And now I’m here with you for our junior year, and I couldn’t be happier about that. As much as it has sucked and as much pain as it has caused, I wouldn’t trade it all for anything.”

Gabby nods quickly, her eyes shining with unshed tears as for the first time in a long time she finally felt at peace about the situation. Stella smiles, holding her hand out, “Come here.” 

Gabby scoots closer, letting Stella wrap her up in a tight hug before resting her head on her shoulder. The girls staying close. “I love you, El.” Gabby murmurs. 

Stella grins. “I know.” She trails off for a moment, “Maybe not as much as you love Matt, but…” Gabby huffs, punching Stella’s arm as she giggles. “Okay, okay.” She concedes, the two settling back together. “What brought this on?” She prompts. 

Gabby sighs, playing with the bracelet on her wrist. “I think I’m just tired of denying what I have always felt… It’s not just a crush, and if I am being honest with myself… it never was just a crush. It’s always been more with us.” The brunette admits, her chest feeling heavy as those words finally are out in the open. 

Stella nods, running a soothing hand over her friend's shoulder. “You two are going to be great together.”

Gabby scoffs at her words. “Please, I don’t even know if he is into me, let alone in love with me.” 

Stella shakes her head. “Oh come on, that boy is absolutely smitten with you.” 

Gabby shakes her head, ignoring her friends words and letting a silence fall over them. “So you and Kelly?” She questions. 

Stella shrugs. “I don’t know, Gabs.”

“What?”

“It’s just… I don’t know what all of this means. He’s become such a great friend I don’t want to ruin that.” Gabby understands that feeling more than she wishes she could. 

Stella huffs, running a hand through her long locks. “...besides, all I can focus on right now is how much trouble I am going to be in tomorrow when we go and talk to Mr. Boden in the morning.”

Gabby chuckles softly, not envying her friend one bit in this moment. 

Stella stares up at the intimidating man in front of her, a timid look on her face as she takes in the man with the larger than life presence. This is the principal of Lincoln Park, and while she had no intention of ever meeting him like this, here she is, only a little over a month into the school year. She glances over at where Kelly sits beside her, surprised by his completely calm demeanor. Clearly, he’d been in this situation before.

“Ms. Kidd, Mr. Severide, I assume you both know why I’ve called you into my office today.” Principal Boden begins.

They both remain silent, unsure if it's a rhetorical situation.

“Do either of you want to explain what you were doing in the art room after school hours?” His voice echoes in the room, and Stella feels a shiver travel down her spine. The prospect of being kicked out of the school she begged to go to before the end of the first quarter is terrifying, her time with Kelly the night before had been amazing, and going back, she’d probably do the same thing. But that doesn’t dilute the fear racing through her veins as she scrambles to think of a rational explanation. She doesn’t have to, though, because Kelly speaks first.

“It was my fault, Mr. Boden. Yesterday in art class I drew a picture of Stella.” He locks eyes with the principal, likely to avoid Stella’s gaze. “And I really wanted to show it to her. I asked her to come to the school with me; she didn’t even know what we were doing there until we got to the room. It won’t happen again, I swear.”

She looks over at the brunette boy incredulously. She’d agreed to go, and she could have left at any point. This is just as much on her as it is Kelly, but he’d taken every bit of the blame. He’d also managed not to tell a single lie. Not to mention adding such a personal detail likely lessened the chances of Boden pushing the subject more than necessary.

“Stella, is this true?” Mr. Boden asks.

“Um, yes it is, sir.” She sees no point in countering Kelly’s story now. 

“Even so, I expect better from both of you. Kelly, this is not your first visit to this office, but I do expect it to be your last. Another incident like this will absolutely not be tolerated.”

“Understood.” Stella sees a small exhale from Kelly, and she knows he was secretly at least a little nervous.

“As for you Ms. Kidd, this is not a great first impression.” Stella opens her mouth to respond when he puts a finger up. “But, my wife seems to have really taken a liking to you. And I trust  _ her _ judgment.”

Stella thinks for a moment, baffled as to how the principal’s wife knew her at all, much less well enough to like her. She feels like an idiot when she realizes that Mrs. Boden, her English teacher, is married to the principal with the same last name. Now, his statement makes sense as she’d grown fairly close with Mrs. Boden. She visits her class a lot during her study hall to ask questions about the novels they read, and they often get into really interesting conversations. Stella has never been more grateful for her tendency to be a teacher’s pet.

“With that said, the same goes for you. I don’t want to see you here again, and I will not be nearly as nice if I do. Have I made myself clear?” he finishes.

“Absolutely sir, won’t happen again.”

Boden looks once more between the two before releasing them.

“You’re dismissed.”

Gabby moves to her locker after first period to find her book for science before the next bell rang. She looks down at her phone, checking once more for a response from Matt, and coming up empty. 

He hadn’t shown up for first period, and after the way he left the night before she is worried. A heavy feeling settles into her chest the more and more she thinks about Matt and the way he had acted not only last night but the night of their date a few weeks ago. The way he had raced off, the worry and fear in his eyes each time. 

Something feels off… something feels wrong, and she doesn’t know what it could be, but she hates not knowing. Admitting her feelings for Matt is just another layer to it all, but first and foremost he’s her friend and whatever is bothering him was enough to bring that look in his eyes that she had never seen before. More than anything she just wants to be there for him, to help him through whatever was going on. 

Gabby pulls her book from her locker, pocketing her phone once more before closing her locker and turning around. She has to hide her shock when she sees the blonde head of hair she has been searching for all morning weaving through the crowded hallway and heading down the hall. 

“Matt!” Her loud call has caught the attention of far more than just the man in question and if her worry for him wasn’t so prominent she may have cared, but right now, the eyes on her from her shout are the last thing on her mind as she quickly weaves around the people in her way to catch up to him. 

He barely spares her a glance as they start moving once more, and she tries her best not to bristle at his coldness. 

“I uh… I missed you during first period. Everything alright?” She questions. 

Matt nods sharply, “Yeah. Slept through my alarm.” He tells her, and Gabby doesn't know why, but no part of her believes that to be true. 

The first bell rings just as they near the door to Gabby’s class, the hallway starting to empty as people shuffle into their classrooms, but Gabby rests a hand on Matt’s arm, stopping him from moving further down the hall to his own classroom. 

“Hey.” She says softly, forcing his blue eyes to meet hers. “Are you okay?” 

Matt’s eyes soften for only a moment, her brown irises making him want to tell her everything on his mind, but he quickly shakes it off. Gabby sees the moment all his walls go back up, and she hates it. This isn’t a side of Matt she had ever seen, this dejected and lost. 

“I said I was fine, Gabby.” He pushes and she can see he wants to race to his class right now, away from her. 

She tries her best not to let that nagging feeling settle into her gut, but the way he’s acting is hurting her more than she cared to admit. “Is this about last night? About what I said about Jay? Because I-”

Matt cuts her off. “This isn’t about last night Gabby. Not everything is about you.” He bites out before he can stop himself. 

Gabby’s eyebrows furrow, “Matt.” She says softly, pleadingly. 

He sighs, “I’m sorry. I-... I have to get to class. I can’t be late.” 

“Matt…” Gabby calls once more as he moves away and into his own classroom. Their conversation does nothing to silence her fears and concerns for him, only heightening them. 

Kelly slams his front door behind him, immediately catching his mother’s attention.

“Kelly? Is that you?” she calls from the kitchen. 

He doesn’t respond, making his way up the stairs to his room instead.

“Kelly, come back down here.”

“Ma.” He tries to argue but is being cut off.

“Now.” Her serious tone leaves no room for argument, and he returns back down the steps with his bookbag still on his shoulder. He stands a few feet apart from his mother, silent as she takes him in. 

Jennifer Sheridan looks her son up and down and squints. Even apart from his burst into the house, something is wrong. The look in his eyes is frustrated, but she can tell there’s something more. She assumes it has something to do with the call she’d received.

“Do you wanna tell me why I got a call from your principal this morning?” she questions, clearly knowing the answer.

“Not really, no,” he answers.

“Fine. Then I’ll tell you. Apparently, you were in the art room at 10 o’clock at night with some girl. Tell me I’m missing something, Kelly because I’m trying to understand what the hell got into you.”

“She’s not some girl,” is all he responds with, piquing her interest further.

“Oh? Then who is she?” Jennifer is upset with him, of course, this is not the first call she’s received from Principal Boden on Kelly’s behalf. But this is also not the arrogant demeanor her son usually has after getting in trouble. Not to mention his focus on the girl part of her statement.

Kelly stares at his shoes, unwilling to meet her eyes.

She sighs and gestures for Kelly to sit at the kitchen table, clearly, this conversation isn’t over yet. He obeys, placing his bag next to him, and she takes the seat across from him.

“Why were you at school so late, Kelly?” Her voice is still stern, but slightly lower in volume.

“Her name is Stella,” he says, avoiding her question.

“Stella? You’ve never mentioned her before, is she new?”

Kelly nods. He picks at his fingernails, awaiting his mother’s next question.

“You like her?” Jennifer asks, noticing the nervousness radiating off of him.

“I’m sorry, Ma. I know I shouldn’t have snuck out. It won’t happen again.” Kelly avoids the question in hopes the apology will have the interrogation ending here.

“I accept your apology, Kelly, but that doesn’t explain what you were doing there. I’m just trying to understand.” She’s always been soft on Kelly, probably to compensate for the callousness of his father. She’d let him know what he did wasn’t okay, and that was all she really wanted to do.

“Does it really matter?”

“Depends on what you two were doing.”

“Nothing bad, ma, I swear.” Kelly silently pleads to not have to explain the truth to his mom. He is undoubtedly closer to her than his dad, but Kelly is very much a private person and telling his mother he drew a picture of a girl she doesn’t even know is very low on the list of things he ever wants to do.

“You promise?” she asks tentatively, sensing his discomfort. Kelly is a lot of things, but a liar is not one of them. When he steps out of line, it’s with honesty, and she has no reason to doubt that now.

“I promise.” 

“Alright.”

“Can I go now?” 

Jennifer takes a second to decide whether or not she wants to push the issue of his mood. 

“After you tell me why you look like that.” 

“Like what?” He looks down at his clothes.

“Like you hurt someone.” Kelly’s mother may be the only person in the world—outside of Leslie Shay—that can read him like a book. He feels guilty, and she needs to know why. “You say you weren’t doing anything wrong in the art room last night, and I believe you, so what’s going on?”

Kelly sighs, realizing he’s going to have to give her something. 

“It’s Stella.”

Jennifer sits back in her chair as she waits for him to continue.

“Like I said, she’s new and she came here for a fresh start and I almost fu- screwed it up.” He supplements. “We just got to know each other and I probably made her hate me already. I was just trying to make her feel better, Ma, I didn’t mean to get her in trouble.”

“I’m sorry, baby,” she says, proud of herself for hiding her reaction to the words ‘make her feel better’, “I can tell you had good intentions. And if this Stella knows you like you say she does, even if it’s just a little bit, she knows that too.” She squeezes his hand.

“Thanks. Can I-”

“Yes, you can go now. Thank you for being honest with me, Kelly.”

He gives his mother a small grin before heading to his room.

No more than five minutes pass before Benny Severide shows up. 

Kelly is just pulling out his textbook when he hears his father’s voice echo throughout the house. He groans, far too exhausted from the day to go down and say anything. Usually, when his dad bursts in like this, he picks a fight and leaves. Odds are he’s pissed about whatever the twenty-something girl he’s dating stole from him that day. Since he and Jennifer divorced, Benny doesn’t visit that often. Not even to see his son. 

So, when he does come by he finds any reason to stay and upset his ex-wife. She’d always told Kelly that his dad is nothing more than a hurting man, and every once in a while he regrets throwing his life away so he comes to see them. In his own twisted way, it’s Benny’s way of saying he misses his family. Kelly doesn’t believe that, though, and just hopes this visit is a short one. He already has so much on his mind surrounding Stella; dealing with Benny is the last thing he needs right now. 

Fortunately, Benny’s never gotten physical with Jennifer, and Kelly has learned his mother can certainly hold her own in their verbal fights. So, he continues taking out his things and allows his mind to wander back to the girl who’d occupied it for weeks now. It’s no secret that Kelly has no trouble attracting girls. He never has, and it’s certainly not something he’s ashamed of. But Stella Kidd is different. She’s funny and kind and  _ real _ , not to mention beautiful. If she likes him, which for once in his life he’s actually unsure of, it’s because of who he is, not how he looks. It’s a superficial way to think, he knows, but he can’t help it. Being around her feels like a breath of fresh air. He finds himself completely absorbed in her words, her mannerisms, her smile. It’s a feeling Kelly is not used to, and it scares him. She makes him want to be vulnerable, but the more open he is the greater the chance he will drive her away, at least that’s what he believes. It’s a dangerous game to play, and he doesn’t want to lose Stella in the process.

“Why are you doing this, Benny?” His mother’s loud voice interrupts his thoughts.

“Doing what? I’m not doing anything to you, Jenny. Calm down.” The older man’s voice is loud, hollow, and a little sad. Kelly knows it all too well.

“You just came here to start shit and I am  _ not _ in the mood for it today.” 

“See, you think you know everything, but you don’t. I came by to see Kelly,” Benny says matter-of-factly.

Kelly’s breath catches in his throat. Why would he want to see him?

“He’s not home.” His mom replies immediately, and Kelly exhales. She knows he can’t handle his father right now, and the teenage boy is very grateful for the protection.

“His truck is outside.” Benny retorts.

“He’s out with his friends, Benjamin. Now, is that all?” Jennifer is unwavering, and Kelly desperately hopes his dad doesn’t come up the stairs.

“I don’t know why you try so hard to keep my own son away from me.”

Jennifer scoffs. “You know exactly why.”

“No, I really don’t. Enlighten me, Jenny. Please tell me what reason you could possibly have for-”

“He’s just like you, Benny! And I love that boy too damn much to let him follow in your footsteps.” she fires back.

Kelly’s stomach drops to his feet. Did his mother really believe that? That he was just like his father? Kelly only knows Benny Severide as a man who leaves his family, sleeps around because of his fear of commitment, and hurts everyone he touches. The last thing Kelly wants is to be anything like him, but if his own mother believes it to be true, then there’s no denying it. The little voice that had haunted Kelly for years, telling him he could never be in a stable relationship because the only male figure he’d had growing up was his father, heightened to a roar. All the insecurities he’d shoved down since his father first left them bubbled to the surface. Kelly can’t do this. He’d been a fool to believe even for a second that he could make it with a girl like Stella. He refuses to hurt someone so sweet, so strong, so perfect. So Kelly shoves his happiness aside and gets up to put on his jacket. This can’t go on any longer.

At some point during Kelly’s mental spiral, Benny finally left. When the younger boy gets downstairs, there’s only Jennifer sitting at the kitchen table with her head in her hands. He glances at her before leaving, considering consoling her. But even if her words were true, they hurt like hell. And Kelly isn’t ready to confront the way she’d made him feel. So for what is likely the third time that day, the front door to the Severide house slams shut as Kelly storms out.

Gabby and Stella sit on her front porch swing, laughing and huddled up under a blanket to block out the chill in the air. The girls catch up after spending their first time together over the weekend after Gabby had spent the prior day visiting Antonio with her parents. 

“Wait, so Boden just… dropped it?” Gabby asks, her shock evident.

Stella shrugs, “I mean, he was definitely pissed, and we are on a short leash, but no write up or anything.” 

Gabby looks her over impressed. “Wow. I’ve gotta say, I’m a little jealous.” Stella raises a brow in question. “Please, I’ve had my fair share of Boden run-ins, and while he is great, he definitely never goes easy on my ass. I may need to take tips from you.” She jokes. 

Stella rolls her eyes. “Yeah, like anything you’ve done to end up in the hot seat even compares to what I did.”

The brunette's mouth falls open in fake offense, a scoff falling from her lips before she pauses thinking over the words. She tilts her head, considering, “That’s fair.”

Stella laughs, rolling her eyes at her friend. They both knew Gabby had her fair share of trouble, though most of it was harmless, she definitely wasn’t afraid to shy away from a good time, even if it did end her in the principal's office. 

“So, how’d it go with Kelly?” Gabby asks, seeing her friend's shoulders deflate. “What happened?” She pushes. 

Stella sighs, bringing her nail to her mouth, the nervous habit instantly catching her friend’s attention. Gabby is immediately on the defense. “Did he do something?” She asks quickly, her voice already letting Stella know she was ready to defend her honor if she said yes.

Her eyes widen. “No. God, no, Gabs. He didn’t do anything I just…” Stella turns herself in the seat, facing her friend fully. “Can I ask you something?” Gabby nods immediately.

“Of course.” 

Stella mulls over her words before finally spitting them out. “The other morning… when we fought,” She sees her friend wince, the wound still fresh and she offers a sympathetic smile, hating having to bring this up, but Gabby offers her a reassuring smile back, pushing her along. “... You uh, you said ‘at least the person I’m crushing on likes me back’...” Gabby gnaws on her bottom lip, wincing once more at those words, hating that she had said them to begin with. “Do you really think Kelly doesn’t feel the same way I do?”

Stella’s timid voice takes her by surprise, but her words do even more. She shakes her head, forcing herself to hide her growing smirk. “Uh… El, when I said that I didn’t mean Kelly.” She mutters, Stella’s confused eyes meeting hers. “...I meant Hannah.” She clarifies. Stella nods, her head bobbing. “I’m sorry, by the way.” 

Stella waives her off, taking in those words. Gabby finally lets her smirk poke through. “Though, it’s nice to see you finally admitting those feelings for Severide to me. I was wondering how long you’d hold on to that one.” Her friends' wide eyes fly to her, a look of near horror on her face as she takes in what she has just inadvertently expressed. 

Gabby chuckles softly at her expression. “It’s fine, El. I’ve known for awhile.” She soothes. Stella nods, the nerves radiating off her. 

“I’m sorry… I know how you feel about him, but I…” Stella starts apologizing, but her friend is quick to cut her off. 

“I think it’s great.” She tells her, her words surprising Stella. “It doesn’t matter how I feel about him, El. All that matters is how he makes you feel. You can’t help who you love.” 

She smiles softly, she wasn’t sure how Gabby would take the news of her first crush at Lincoln Park to be her best friend's sworn enemy, but she should have known by now that Gabby would support her no matter what. “You sure?” She asks once more. 

Gabby nods. “Completely. And to answer your question. Severide and I may not be friends anymore, but I knew him once, and the guy I used to know… he was great. If he makes you happy, and he treats you right, that’s all I care about.” 

Stella leans forward, wrapping an arm around her friend in a tight hug. “You’re the best, you know that?” 

As they pull apart Gabby chuckles. “I kind of am, aren't I?” 

Stella shakes her head, ignoring her humblebrag as they settle back into the wooden rocking chair, pulling the blanket closer around themselves as the night wears on and chill in the air grows. 

Nearly an hour later Stella has her head thrown back in laughter as Gabby recounts how her trip to see Antonio went yesterday. Gabby letting her in on how her parents had reacted to walking into his dorm room to find him and his girlfriend Laura partially clothed.

Stella chuckles. “Oh my God, I bet ‘Tonio was mortified.”

“Not as mortified as Laura.” Gabby quips, her friend laughing once more. 

Gabby goes to continue, ready to explain how the following brunch had gone after the scene they walked in on when movement catches her attention. A figure walking across the yard from Stella’s house and up her drive pulls her focus. She expects to find one of Stella’s parents, maybe even Shay, and a bigger part of her hopes for it to be the blonde boy she hadn’t heard from all weekend… but the absolute last thing she expects to see is Kelly Severide. Gabby’s eyes widened in surprise as he stepped onto her front porch. 

“Kelly?” She questions, the confusion clear in her words. “Shay isn’t here.” She follows up with, that being the only thing she can think of that would bring Kelly to her door this evening. 

He tucks his hands into the pockets of his letterman jacket, shifting on his feet with nerves. “No, I know. She has a date with April.” He responds, his eyes moving from Gabby to Stella. “I was actually here to see you.” 

Gabby looks between her two friends, surprised, but can’t help the knowing smile that falls on her face as she looks between the two. After Stella had told her about Kelly trying to kiss her the other night and the trouble they had gotten in with Principal Boden on Friday morning Gabby was surprised to see the brown-haired football player here. By the looks of it, Stella was too. 

Stella stutters nervously, her hand coming up to chew on her nails. 

“It’s okay.” Gabby interferes. “I was about to head inside anyway, you should go, El.” She gives her friend a pointed look, though they both knew she originally had no intention of going inside. 

Kelly nods, “Take a walk with me?” He asks Stella. 

After shooting Gabby a glare for her interference, Stella sits up, offering Kelly a timid smile. “Sure. I'll go get my jacket. Be right back.” 

Stella takes off down the steps and across the yard, disappearing into her own house. Gabby sits up, the silence between her and Severide thick as she folds the blanket she and Stella had been using. 

Gabby fumbles with her cell phone, checking her messages for the umpteenth time that night. There was still nothing from Matt, and her worry for him kept growing. He had been pulling away from her, putting a distance between them that she absolutely hated. She was starting to wonder if she was the only one with feelings if his actions that she had taken as interest were the exact opposite. 

She had finally admitted to herself that she cared for Matt so much more than a friend. Truthfully, she always had, but their timing had always been off. Either he was taken, or she was. They could never get it right. But now they were both single, and she was ready for this, but Matt seemed not to be. 

They had gotten closer. They hung out both in and out of school, they text each other all the time, but neither of them had taken the next step, and part of her was losing hope they ever would. 

Gabby gnaws on her bottom lip, her eyes moving to the boy leaned against the railing, waiting for her friend. 

“Hey, Kelly?” She asks, the nerves radiating off her. His eyes move from their focus on the ground to meet hers, the shock at being spoken to written into his features. “Have uh, have you heard from Matt this weekend?” 

Severide tenses slightly, releasing a sigh. “No, I haven’t, actually.” 

Gabby’s interest has definitely peaked, her worry growing. “Not at all?” Kelly shakes his head in response. “God, what is going on with him? I tried to hang out with him last night, but he hasn’t answered me at all. He’s been so distant.” Gabby rambles in frustration before she can stop herself, but she doesn’t miss the way Kelly tenses at her words. 

“What is it?” She prompts. 

“It’s nothing, Dawson. I told you, I haven’t heard from him.” His defensive tone does nothing but make her push harder. 

“Look, Kelly, I’m just worried. Alright? One-minute things are great and it’s like we are taking steps in the right direction and the next he is pulling away and not answering calls or texts.” Kelly remains silent, avoiding her gaze. 

Gabby sighs heavily, crossing her arms. “If you talk to him, can you just tell him that I am worried? If he doesn’t like me or whatever, and he is avoiding me because he doesn’t want to hurt my feelings it’s fine. I’m not worried about that; I just want to make sure he is okay.” Gabby moves to her front door but his hand on her arm stops her. 

“Gabby, wait.” Kelly looks her over, he can see the clear worry in her form for their mutual friend. Truth be told, he was starting to worry more and more for the blond man. He knew what was likely going on with Casey, he had an idea since that day in the locker room, but he had barely been able to talk with him since then, Matt doing whatever he could to avoid him.

Against his better judgment, he motions toward her front step. They both take a seat; Gabby looks at him expectantly. 

“Listen, I don’t know what is going on with Casey right now, but I do know you mean a lot to him, don’t doubt that. Matt’s life is more complicated than he lets on. He does his best to not let it affect him, but he has it pretty rough at home.” 

Kelly pauses, swallowing thickly. He couldn’t help feeling like he was betraying his best friend by sharing this information, but he knew if anyone could get through to Matt, it would be the girl sitting next to him. 

“Matt’s dad, Alan, he’s a real son-of-a-bitch. An alcoholic. He’s an angry drunk, takes it out on Matt and his mom, Nancy, a lot. Matt does his best to keep the peace there, but we’re just kids, you know? He shouldn’t have to do that.” Gabby reaches out, squeezing Kelly’s arm in comfort, seeing how clearly affected he was by his closest friend's home life., and despite what she felt about the man next to her, she knew he cared about Matt deeply. Gabby could feel her own tears welling at the admission.  _ How had she not been aware of all this? _

“His parent’s split a few years back and it had calmed down for a while, but I assume his dad has been coming around his mom’s place more and more lately and Matt has been having to deal with that. Gabby, if he is pulling away, it has nothing to do with you, and everything to do with what is going on at home for him, trust me on that. If there is anyone that Matt trusts and wants to spend his time with, it’s you.” 

Gabby looks away, the lump in her throat thick as she nods, letting Kelly know she understood his words. 

They both look up as Stella moves up the sidewalk toward them, slowing her steps as she takes them in. “Everything alright?” She questions, watching as Gabby rubs at her eyes quickly and Kelly stands up. 

“Yeah, we’re good,” Kelly tells her, clearing his own throat. 

Stella doesn’t look convinced, still eyeing Gabby. 

The brunette offers her a less than reassuring smile, her mind too clouded with the conversation she just had to offer more. “Really El, it’s fine, go. I’ll talk to you in the morning.” 

Stella leans forward, giving her a quick hug before moving to walk down the sidewalk, only stopping when she notices Kelly had yet to move, his eyes still on Gabby. 

“Don’t give up yet Dawson. Keep trying. He will let you in... more than he ever did me.” He reassures, getting a half-smile from Gabby before he is leading Stella down the walkway. 

Gabby sits on her step for another ten minutes, long after her friends have walked on and disappeared down the road. Her heart is heavy as she thinks about the blonde man who meant the world to her. 

She grabs her phone, unlocking it and scrolling to his contact before pressing the green call button. It rings and rings, before going to his voicemail. 

She shakes her head, gnawing on her lips before going back to his contact and typing out a message. She hits send and goes to grab her keys and jacket. 

Maybe Matt wasn’t ready to let her in completely, but she couldn’t let him go through this all alone. 

There’s an awkwardly wide gap between Stella and Kelly as they walk around her neighborhood. Things hadn’t necessarily been awkward since the meeting with Boden, but they hadn’t been normal either. The two hadn’t talked since, and Stella isn’t entirely sure why.

“Thank you.” She breaks the silence. “For what you said to Boden. You didn’t have to take all the responsibility, you know. I agreed to meet you there.”

“I know.”

“Are you okay?” she wonders aloud. Kelly’s never been super talkative, but this seems like something else.

He sighs, but says nothing.

“Kelly?” she asks softly. He’s been avoiding her gaze from the moment they left Gabby’s, but he’s the one who asked to take a walk. This isn’t making sense. “What is this?”

Several minutes pass before he responds. Stella can practically see the weight on his shoulders, and she wants nothing more than to take it off. But she also knows Kelly is just like Gabby in that he isn’t going to speak until he feels ready. Not with anything serious, which this clearly is.

“Can we just...talk?” he requests. Kelly has his hands shoved in his pockets the way he only does when he’s holding something in. She hates seeing him so conflicted, especially when she has no idea why. 

“Yeah, of course.” She reaches out for his shoulder, but Kelly dodges it. She bites her lip. “I made up with Gabby, that night actually. You were right, everything blew over pretty quickly.”

“Good, that’s good.” She almost catches a smile on his lips.

“Yeah, I hate fighting with her, so it’s been nice.”

He nods.

“I really enjoyed that night, you know. With you,” Stella continues, “I don’t think I’ve ever seen you be that genuine. It meant a lot to me.”

“Yeah, about that-”

But Stella cuts him off. Which in hindsight, may not have been the best choice considering he’d spoken so few words already. For some reason, though, she can’t hold herself back. Her feelings for Kelly are unlike anything she’s ever experienced. He’s the first person she looks for in a group, the last person she ever wants to hurt. The sound of his laughter plays in the back of her mind before she falls asleep at night. She daydreams about his touch, in more ways than one. Her heartbeat quickens whenever he’s around. Stella has a full-blown crush, and for the first time in a long time, she thinks she actually has a chance. Being friends just isn’t cutting it anymore. So, before she can think her way out of it, she speaks.

“I think we should give it a shot.”

Kelly stops walking.

“Give what a shot?”

“Us. Me and you. As more than friends.”

The expression on his face is completely unreadable, and Stella has never hated his ability to mask his feelings more than at this moment.

“Kelly, say something,” she pleads. 

“No.” 

Stella’s entire world comes crashing down.

“What?” she chokes out.

“No, Stella. I can’t-”

Any sadness Stella may have had hardened into anger immediately. He’s not himself, and he won’t even tell her why. None of this, none of it, is making any sense. 

“You can’t or you won’t?” she bites. 

“It’s not a good idea, Stella, and you know it.” His voice is cold, and every word sends a chill into her heart.

“No, I don’t know that, and neither do you. What I do know is that you’re keeping something big from me, and I don’t deserve that. I thought we were making progress Kelly, I-I thought I actually  _ knew _ you, I thought-”

“Well, you thought wrong.”

Stella looks at him with more betrayal and hurt than he’s ever seen, and Kelly desperately wants to take back every word he’s said. To pull Stella close and never let her go. But he doesn’t. Instead, he watches the tears form in Stella’s eyes. And stands there silently as Stella whispers,

“Yeah, I guess I did.”

and stares blankly as she gives him one last look before turning around and bolting back to her house, leaving him standing there, alone, with a futile apology on his tongue.

Gabby pulls up in front of Matt’s house and pushes her car into park; spotting his old beat-up navy truck parked in the driveway. 

She grabs her phone. Still no response from her message 15 minutes ago letting him know she was coming over. She calls him once more, the phone again going to voicemail before she hangs up and sends him another text letting him know she is outside. 

She gets out of her car, pulling her jacket tighter around herself and tucking her hair behind her ear nervously. She pockets her keys and phone and walks up the sidewalk. The house in front of her is one she knows well enough to locate, but not one she has ever spent much time at. 

The lights are still on, though it is nearing ten at night. As she gets closer, she hears it. The yelling. 

Her heart rate picks up, her nerves shooting sky-high. She knew Kelly had been telling the truth, this wasn’t something you lied about, but to hear it with her own ears, to know it to be true... it broke her heart in two. 

She hears the muffled yells and stops at the door. She can only make out a man and a woman’s voice, everything muffled from the closed door. She checks her phone one last time, still nothing from Matt. She debates if this is the right call. Should she really be here? He clearly did not want her here, any offers of her coming to his place always canceled, or never offered at all. Would her showing up so unannounced just cause more issues for Matt? 

She forces herself to shake those thoughts; consequences be damned. Matt needed someone, anyone, to be in his corner. She wouldn’t let him force her out of his life because he didn’t want her to see this side of it. With that thought, she knocks on the door quickly. The yelling stops immediately. The silence nearly as crushing as the yelling had been. 

A tall man with greying hair swings the door open harshly. His deep blue eyes staring straight at her, he reeked of alcohol, and his chest was still huffing in anger. Gabby took a step back at just the sight of him. 

This was Matt’s father. 

“What do you want?” He bites out; introductions clearly not welcome. 

Her eyes harden, straightening her back she replies. “I’m looking for Matt.” 

The man, Alan, Severide had called him, looks her up and down harshly. Gabby keeping her own hardened eyes on him, doing everything she can to be a strong presence in front of this man, not letting how scared she actually was shine through. 

Alan shakes his head, a chuckle leaving him before he turns around, leaving the door open and disappearing. She hears him call for Matt but doesn’t move from her spot. 

She hears a woman ask if it was the cops and shakes her head at that question, her heart sinking more. She barely catches sight of Matt, his eyes widening when he notices her, before a hand on his chest stops him. She sees Matt’s jaw set as he looks back to his father again. 

“Don’t be long.” She hears his father say before Matt is in front of her. She smiles, relieved to finally see him, but it is short-lived as she takes him in.

His clothes are rumpled, his normal put together self nowhere in sight. His hair is a mess like he has been running his hands through it and his eyes are bloodshot, but that isn’t really what catches her attention. 

It’s the red surrounding his right under eye, a cut on his upper cheek. The red would clearly turn into a bruise soon if he didn’t get some ice on it. 

She gasps audibly, “Matt, what-” He is cutting her off, shushing her as he closes the door and leads them down the steps and out onto the sidewalk near her red bug. The yells that have started back up getting quieter as they move away. 

She shrugs his hand off of her and steps back as they near her car. “Matt, what the hell happened to you?!” She all but yells, her eyes wide with fear and concern. 

She doesn’t expect to be met by his darkening blue eyes. “What are you doing here, Gabby?” He asks roughly, avoiding her question. 

“Matt...” She says softly, her voice trailing off. 

He looks away from her, doing his best to calm his racing heart. 

He was hoping she would never have to find out about all this. Never have to see this side of his life. 

“Did Kelly tell you?” He questions, still refusing to meet her eyes. 

Gabby shakes her head, “It doesn’t matter how I found out, Matt.” She says her voice just as soft as before, unable to pull her eyes away from his pained face. 

He swallows thickly, barely nodding. “I didn’t want you to ever have to know about all this.” 

Gabby’s brows furrow in confusion. “Matt. This doesn’t change anything... this doesn’t-” 

“It does!” His outburst has her stepping back from him. He shakes his head, closing his eyes, willing himself to calm down. He was still so worked up from before Gabby showed up, still processing what had happened, he didn’t want to take out his anger on her. 

“It changes everything, Gabby. I don’t talk about this stuff, okay? I don’t share this part with anyone. Hell, Kelly wasn’t ever supposed to find out either!” 

Gabby shakes her head, not backing down. “You can keep pushing me away, Matt. You can keep hiding this from everyone else, but you don’t have to hide this from me. I’m not going anywhere.” She tries to assure him. 

He looks down at her, his 6-foot frame towering over her 5’1 self. “You say that now Gabby, but this-” He points to his eye and back to the house where she could still hear the faint screaming match going on. “...this isn’t even the half of it. You don’t need to get mixed up with me and all this.” 

Gabby steps closer to him, she can see the pain in Matt’s eyes, the weight he was carrying on his shoulders far more than anyone should ever have too. 

“I don’t care, Matt. I don’t care where or what you came from. I don’t care who your parents are, or about any of the extra stuff. I just care about you. I’m here. I’m in this... no matter what.” The determined look in her eye letting Casey know she meant every single one of those words, his heart rate picking up for a completely different reason now. 

He rests his hands on her hips tentatively. Gabby reaching down to guide them to her hips completely, letting him know it was okay. She moved her hand back up to his cheek, his discolored skin stinging red and angry around the deep red inch wide cut while her other rest on his chest as they stood in each other's embrace. 

He closed his eyes as her finger trailed along the cut, she couldn’t take her eyes off. 

“Gabby...” He says softly, the pain in his voice clear, his resolve to keep up a strong front weakening. 

“It’s okay.” She whispers. Cradling his cheek in her palm. His jaw trembles and her heart clenches tighter if at all possible. “It’s okay, Matt.” His shoulders shudder, his grip on her hips tightening as he tries to hold it together. 

He can only hold it together a moment longer before the sob he was desperately trying to hold in escapes. Gabby wrapping her arms around him as his move from her hips to wrap around her back, holding her close. “It’s okay.” She whispers once more; her own voice strained with emotion as she guides his head to her neck feeling his tears hit her skin as his shoulder shook. 

“I’m here, Matt.” She assures, giving him permission to let go. To let go of the heavyweight he had been carrying on his own and lean on her. “I’m here, and I’m not going anywhere.” 


	8. chapter eight

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> both stella and gabby recover from last chapter’s newfound information, and a fairly new friendship is deepened.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hi!!! please don’t be mad lol. i know we missed another week but a lot happened very quickly in my personal life and i became extremely busy for a week straight. it’s over now though, so once again i will say i hope things will go back to normal. this one is a healthy mix between soft and angsty, so buckle in! as always, this same fic will be posted on FF under shelby's username @/peytfan4ever. thanks so much for reading <3 (my twitter is @/annasrae and shelby's is @/shelbersmarie_ if anyone wants to reach out!)

Looking around timidly, Gabby moves through her front door, pushing it closed quietly, not wanting to wake her parents knowing that she would be in for it if they realized how late she was coming home on a Sunday night… well, Monday morning actually. 

When she had left to go to Matt’s it was already well past ten at night and she had promised she wouldn’t be long. She also hadn’t realized what all she would stumble upon when showing up at Casey’s house. After talking with Matt, comforting him, and having him open up to her, she couldn’t just leave him, and she’d take any punishment that may come from her parents as the result.

Though her parents didn’t seem to be up now, she knew the likelihood that this was mentioned to her in the morning was high. Her parents, while very lenient, knew everything. Even the times she tried to hide things, they always found out. Gabby knows if she simply explained where she’d been and why, they’d likely let it go, but she is hoping to not have to. 

Tonight had been…  _ exhausting _ . 

Gabby is happy to get to be there for Matt, to know the truth about him and what he deals with at home, but it doesn’t make it all any easier. If anything, the worry and concern she had felt before going to him had only doubled. The truth is no less concerning than the unknown had been. Now though, Gabby has no idea what to do with this newfound information. After she and Matt had separated he had come to sit in her car with her, the two of them escaping into the little Volkswagen to fight off the cooling fall night, and Matt had told her everything. 

He had shared how his dad had been abusive to his mother for nearly as long as he could remember. How that verbal abuse had spread to him at a young age, only to turn physical when he hit middle school. Gabby hates more than anything knowing just  _ how long _ he had been dealing with this and hiding it. He tells her how their eighth-grade year his mom had divorced his dad and when his father moved out things had gotten better. He only had to see him every other weekend, and for the most part, the abuse had stopped. That was until Sophomore year when his dad lost his job and started drinking again. 

Gabby had listened intently, offering support anywhere she could while Matt poured his heart out to her and let her into the deepest and darkest corners of his life. He tells her how Kelly found out about it all Freshman year and how he became his only friend that ever knew… until her. And then he tells her about what had been going on more recently. How his dad had lost his job once again this summer. How he started showing up to his mom’s place more and more. Alan Casey warming his way back into his ex-wife's life in any way he could. Playing the sympathy card, telling her he’d changed, only for when she finally started to believe it for him to revert back to his old ways immediately. 

Matt was left to pick up the pieces once again. Only now he is older, taller, stronger, and he is doing everything he can to keep his mother safe. The shiner that Gabby had seen on his eye she was sure was only a small indication of what all Matt had gone through. By the end of his story, Gabby could see that the weight seemed to lift off his shoulders, finally being able to tell her everything leaving him feeling relieved. She was grateful for it. She was happy Matt was able to confide in her, she wanted to be that person for him. But as that weight lifted off Matt’s shoulders it seemed to have settled directly onto her chest, her heart feeling suffocatingly heavy as she tried to take it all in while also holding a brave and supportive face for the boy she was desperately in love with. 

Casey had to practically talk her into going home tonight. The worry that had settled into her flooding her veins at the thought of Matt having to go back into that house and deal with his father once again. As they had sat in her car Gabby had watched as the mark on his face got angrier and angrier, his pale skin turning an ugly black and blue around the cut on his cheek by the time he’d headed inside. 

Her mind is flooded with thoughts of a small blond-haired boy cowering in the corner while a much larger man hurls insults that he is much too young to hear his way, his sad and terrified blue eyes shining with tears making the lump in Gabby’s throat grow tighter as she makes her way up her own stairs.

All she wants is to fall into bed and let the emotional and physical exhaustion she feels melt away, but she has a feeling sleep won’t be easy to come by tonight, and she knows tomorrow at school will be a long day. 

She opens her bedroom door, flicks her light on, and nearly jumps out of her skin. Her hand flies to her chest and a gasp of shock leaves her lips. The sight of her best friend curled up in the middle of her mauve duvet cover is the last thing she expects to see at nearly one in the morning. 

Gabby huffs, shutting the door carefully behind her and setting her jacket down on the desk. 

“Jesus, El. You scared the hell out of me.” She mutters, walking towards her vanity to find a hair tie, her back still to her friend as she hears her shuffle around on the bed. “I figured you’d be shacked up with Severide somewhere after he came looking for you.” She chuckles, “...Oh God, please don't tell me you two came here because if you did something in my bed I swear…” Gabby turns around now, finally taking in her best friend, her words stalling in her chest. 

Stella’s eyes are bloodshot, her cheeks red, fresh tears trailing down her face already. Gabby drops the pajamas she had pulled from her dresser, her heart hammering in her chest as she moves to her bed and pulls her friend into her arms, holding her close. 

“What happened, El?” 

Stella hiccups, her tears falling faster as she tries to talk. Gabby soothes her once more, her chest aching even more than it did when she walked through the door. “It’s okay, just breathe.” She tells her, knowing how quickly Stella’s anxiety can get away from her, her main focus calming her down. 

After a few moments of silence, Stella finally manages to get a few words out. “I thought he liked me.” She cries softly, Gabby’s eyes watering at her friend’s admission, putting two and two together and getting the gist of what happened. “I thought he wanted to be with me…” Stella trails off once more, her tears coming faster again. 

Gabby holds her tighter, swaying her body as she holds her crying friend closer, humming softly and knowing how much it soothes her friend. Stella starts to calm just a little, and Gabby is hopeful she is making progress, that is until the next words are leaving her friend’s mouth, heartbroken and sad…

“I was so stupid to think someone like him could be into someone like me…”

Gabby tenses, shaking her head and immediately soothing her best friend once more, pulling away just enough to meet her eyes head-on. “You are  _ not _ stupid, Stella Kidd. You are the most amazing person I know, and anyone who doesn’t see that is not worth your time or your tears.” She insists. 

Stella barely gets out a nod, just enough to appease her friend before she is being pulled back in close, Gabby continuing her rocking motion and humming, doing everything she can to make her friend feel better. 

Stella’s cries increase, her heartbreak coming out in the tears she is crying, unable to get much more out for words. For the second time in only a few hours, Gabby’s heart shatters for another person who she loves so damn much. Unlike with Matt’s situation where Gabby feels completely helpless, in this situation she can at least put a face to the heartbreak, a face she knows all too well. 

Kelly Severide is going to pay. 

Gabby stalks down the hall of Lincoln Park, her hair thrown in a haphazard bun on the top of her head after nearly sleeping through her alarm. Her normal put together self dressed down in skinny jeans, Birkenstocks sandals, and a much too large white and navy LPHS crew neck sweater that she had stolen from one of the football guys at a party she could barely remember. The oversized material feeling like a security blanket today, something she needed more than anything. 

A long night with Matt had turned into an even longer morning with Stella. Gabby finally had her broken best friend asleep beside her well after two in the morning at that point, but she herself laid awake, unable to sleep as she thought of both the blond-haired boy who she couldn’t shake off her mind and the girl laying next to her. Two of the most important people in her life are hurting beyond measure, and Gabby is desperate to try and fix  _ something _ . Anything to get rid of this helpless feeling that had settled into her gut. 

Finding Kelly Severide and giving him a piece of her mind feels like the easiest solution. She knows there is no way in hell she’s making it through a confrontation with Alan Casey, but Kelly Severide? Well, that’s a conversation she can more than handle. 

Gabby stomps down the hall, looking around intently for the man in question and coming up short. She finds a group of the football guys settled against their lockers waiting for first period and moves their way, her eyes landing on Jay Halstead who immediately recognizes the fire in the feisty brunette's eyes. His brow raises as his attention goes to the short Latina’s hard stare, the girl who he knows better than most… Meaning he knows better than most to stay far away from a very pissed off Gabriela Dawson; their tumultuous relationship often leaving him on the receiving end of many screaming matches and harsh glares. 

The group around him silences quickly, all seeing just how pissed she seems to be. Jay swears Freddy, the boy next to him, gulps. “Dawson?” Jay finally asks, his hesitation made clear in his voice alone. 

“Severide?” She questions and Jay has to bite back his smirk as the name leaves her lips harshly. He is well aware of Gabby’s clear contempt for the boy and to have her mad this early in the morning, he is all too intrigued to know what he had done this time. 

Jay loses the fight to bite back his smirk as he points across the hall, Gabby’s eyes following the direction to the men’s restroom. She scoffs, shaking her head before throwing a “Thanks” back at her ex and stalking across the hall and straight into the bathroom, not a care in the world who all may be in there as she steps in. 

She is grateful to not only find him there but thankfully washing his hands and not at one of the urinals lining the wall. Kelly looks up as the door slams open, his eyes widening in shock as he finds Gabriela Dawson’s harsh brown eyes staring back at him, chest huffing. 

“Dawson?” He questions turning around, “What the hell are you-...” His words are quickly cut off by the brunette as she grabs hold of his shirt with a strength he is shocked to see from someone so small and shoves him against the wall. 

The fire in her eyes clear as day as she lays into him, letting all of her frustration that has built up since last night come out. 

“What the hell did you do, Kelly?” She screams, her voice echoing off the concrete walls. “I give you the benefit of the doubt, I trust you with my best fucking friend and you hurt her like that?” 

Kelly’s eyes widen as she unloads, shoving him back into the wall once more, he holds his hands up in surrender, not wanting to risk hurting her if he were to fight back even in the slightest. Though her strength to be able to push him into the wall had surprised him, Kelly knows this was in no way a fair fight, and the last thing he wants to do is hurt her as well. 

His lack of fight and words making Gabby drop some of her own, she takes a step back as she shoves off him roughly, turning her back to him and running a shaky hand over her forehead, trying to ease some of the tension settling there. 

“Dawson, you don’t know the whole story.” He tries to defend, but she is whipping back around to face him and he is met with a fresh glare and scoff. 

“All I know, Kelly, is my best fucking friend is a mess and it is because of you.” She bites out. Kelly bristles, his heart hammering in his chest at her words. He knows this is because of him, it had all been playing on a loop over and over in his head all night.

“Not that I should be surprised, this is you we are talking about after all.” She throws out harshly. “God, you ruin fucking everything I swear, I should have known the minute she started getting close to you-”

“You don’t think I know that!” Kelly finally breaks, his frustration taking over as he hollers out, his outburst making Gabby jump. “I know I fucking hurt her Gabby! Of course, I know that! This is all my fault, I know!” Kelly runs his hands through his hair in frustration. 

Gabby’s eyes soften, seeing the clear pain the man in front of her is in. 

“I fucked up, alright. I ruined everything.” He says, his voice quiets, the pained look on his face not leaving. 

Dawson crosses her arms over her chest, “Yeah, you did.” She agrees. 

Kelly shoots her a glare, though he knows her words are true. “I know. God, I was such an ass, and I ruined this. Stella didn’t deserve that…” He trails off, running a hand over his face in frustration. 

Gabby shakes her head, her anger softening only the slightest, her mind still full of thoughts of her best friend crying in her arms for the better part of the night. 

“Well, if you know all of this Kelly then fucking fix it. Because I swear to God if you hurt her again…” Gabby trails off, shaking her head, both of them knowing they don’t want her to finish that sentence. 

Sparing one last look in his direction Gabby is moving out of the bathroom quickly, nearly running into a freshman that looks at her wide-eyed, staring at the sign over her head with the male figure before looking back at her in confusion. She rolls her eyes, pushing past him and back out into the hall, finding Jay with a knowing smirk on his face as he watches her stomp out. 

She simply shakes her head at him, running her hand along her temple once more as she moves down the hall, the headache resting behind her eyes making itself more and more prominent. Her lack of sleep is catching up with her. That piled with the stress she feels and lack of caffeine in her system makes for a recipe of disaster. 

“Hey.” Gabby looks up, finding blue eyes staring back at her, stopping her in her tracks in front of Matt’s locker. She instantly feels some of the weight lifting off her shoulders, the anger she had held onto all morning dissipating just slightly. 

“Hey.” She responds softly. Matt takes her in, noticing just how worn down she looks today, though she was still just as beautiful as ever. He can tell she hadn’t gotten much rest the night before, and he can’t help but feel responsible for that. 

“You doing okay?” He asks quietly. 

Gabby’s eyes soften more as she meets his look head-on, seeing the clear concern covering his face. Her eyes fall to the bruised skin on his cheek, the cut a harsh red but the bruise a deep black and blue. “I should be the one asking you that.” She says softly, her hand reaching up to run along the discolored skin. 

Casey’s body floods with warmth, the feeling of her skin on his a reminder of the night before, and how it had felt to be in her arms. To hold onto her, to feel her close. He shakes his head, grabbing her hand that was on his cheek. 

“I’m okay.” He reassures. Gabby’s eyes find his once more. “I promise. I’m good… but really. How are you?” He pushes, hoping to get an actual answer from her this time. 

She sighs, “Long night.” 

Matt winces, guilt flooding his system. “I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have unloaded on you like that. I know this wasn’t what you probably expected when…” 

Gabby’s eyes widen, cutting him off quickly, “What? Matt, no, that’s not what…” Gabby stops, taking a breath to gather her thoughts, suddenly very aware that her hand was still clasped in his. “Last night, I, I’m happy I was there. I meant what I said, Matt. I’m here for you, no matter what. I’ll always be here for you.” She insists, meeting his gaze. Matt nods, squeezing her hand before letting it go. 

The heavy air settles between them, Matt offering her a soft smile, “So, uh, if not that then what happened?” He asks. 

Gabby sighs, the first bell rings and she nods down the hall, the two of them taking off towards first period. “Long story, that basically starts with a crying Stella in my bed, and ends with me shoving Severide up against the wall in the men’s restroom.” 

Matt stops their walking, looking at her with wide eyes, clearly unsure how to take her last words. Gabby’s eyes widen as well once she realizes the insinuation. “Oh, God. No. No! Not like that.” Gabby nearly shivers at the thought, Matt relaxing a little as well. Gabby chuckles softly, “Though, he would have probably preferred that rather than me shoving him into the wall and yelling at him.” 

Matt decides that the absolute last thing he wants to think about is his best friend and Gabby together in any way, shape, or form. “What happened?”

Gabby sighs. “Honestly, I’m not totally sure. All I know is Stella is a wreck and he is to blame, I spent the rest of my night with her. She skipped today.” Gabby fills in. 

Matt nods along, as they head into English, both settling into their assigned seats. “I take it you two are doing better?” He asks, referring to the fight last Thursday. 

Gabby nods, nearly forgetting she’d barely spoken to Matt since then. “Oh, uh, yeah we’re good. Cleared the air… just in time it seems.” She jokes lightly. 

Matt laughs softly, but he can see behind her joking demeanor Gabby is clearly having a rough day. Her minimal makeup and dressed down look is easily one of his favorite looks on her, but definitely not one she wears often. He can see clearly the weight she is carrying on her shoulders and he hates to admit that the likelihood is that part of that weight has to do with what he told her last night just as much as the situation with her best friend. Matt has caught her staring at the cut on his face most of the morning, and he knows she probably has questions. He knows she likely has concerns and fears. 

Right now all he wants to focus on is being there for her, she’s the most important person in his life, and all last night did for him is solidify that. 

Matt reaches out running a soothing hand along her back, Gabby looking over at him as he does, not being able to help herself as she leans into the touch, letting it erase some of the tension there. 

“Well, you know I am here for you too, right?” He questions. “This goes both ways you know. If you need anything, I’m here, Gabby. I’m not going anywhere.” 

Words don't seem so easy to come by when his intense stare is on her, that coupled with the feeling of him rubbing her back leaving her speechless. She simply nods, offering a weak smile, thankful when the second bell rings and signals the start of class… even if the obnoxious noise only furthers the dull ache in her head.

Gabby looks up towards the front of the room, her eyes landing on a pair of blue ones staring back at her, a clear question in his eyes. She shakes her head, giving Kelly his answer. His English partner wouldn’t be here today, and he knows any chance he had at apologizing wasn’t happening today. 

It’s the following Tuesday that Gabby walks from her study hall towards the lunchroom, her phone pulled to her ear as she talks to her best friend that is skipping school for the second day in a row. 

“He asked me about you this morning again,” Gabby tells her, practically feeling her friend tense through the phone, but offering no words in reply. Gabby sighs, running a hand through her curly hair. 

“Are you ever planning on talking to him?” Gabby asks, “Or, ya know, returning to school for that matter?” She jokes lightly, hearing her friend scoff on the other line. 

“I just… I need some more time, Gabs. All of this, it just… sucks.” She says simply, for lack of a better word. 

Gabby nods, knowing her friend can’t see her, her eyes landing on Matt across the lunchroom, his head thrown back in laughter, the bruise on his cheek looking angrier after another day of setting in. She sighs, knowing just how much all of this sucked. 

“I hear ya.” She agrees quietly, her and Stella bidding each other a quick goodbye as Gabby heads for the lunch table, not having much of an appetite. Shay is already sitting down alone, her head buried in her phone. 

“I fucking hate your best friend.” Gabby huffs out as she sits, Shay doesn’t look up, but an amused look crosses her face. 

“Oh really? What’s new?” She jokes lightly, continuing with the game displayed on her screen. 

“Shay.” Gabby says pointedly, her voice alone having Shay looking up, her eyes meeting with the brunette across from her as a bad feeling washes over her. Something happened, that much was clear, this isn’t about the normal Dawson and Severide feud. This is more, much more. 

“Shit… what happened?” She asks, her voice hesitant, unsure if she truly wanted to know at this point. 

Gabby sighs, unloading all that had happened since Sunday night. “...all I know is this is Stella’s second day of skipping. Kelly really fucked up Shay. We both know I don’t have the highest opinion of him anyways, but Stella really liked him, she probably still does.” The brunette huffs, running a hand through her crazy curls as April takes a seat next to Shay. Reading the room, her brows raise in concern. Sharing a look with Leslie, the blonde rests a hand on her arm, letting her know she’d fill her in later. 

“I had no idea… I’ll talk to him, Gabs.” She offers, seeing just how upset her best friend is.

“Oh God, what’d Kelly do now?” April huffs, catching on to that much of the conversation. 

Gabby shakes her head, squeezing Shay’s arm that was rested on hers before getting up, deciding to head to her next period early, she directs her eyes back to the couple in front of her. “Well, thanks to him we will see if Stella is transferring schools for the second time this year.” 

Shay shakes her head as the brunette moves away, her words meant to be sarcastic, though she is well aware that was an actual fear of Gabby’s. 

Shay looks across the lunchroom finding her best friend sat with the football team but looking a million miles away, a funny feeling settles into her stomach. She hadn’t seen Kelly much the past two days and she isn’t really sure where his head is right now, but something in her gut is telling her he isn’t okay. The two of them had become each other’s other half over the years. She knows him inside and out, just as he does with her. With a connection like theirs, built on nearly a decade of trust and hardship, it doesn’t take much for either of them to sense when something’s off, that something clearly being the information Gabby had just let her in on. 

Matt and Kelly had barely sat at the football table since the beginning of the school year, or more accurately, since Stella’s arrival, Shay realizes. She takes her best friend in once more; his head is down, likely staring at his phone, and she knows she needs to go over. 

April’s voice soon pulls her from her thoughts. “What happened with Stella and Kelly?” She asks softly, her concern made clear.

Shay shakes her head, “Honestly, babe, I don’t know, but I’m going to find out.” She says determinedly. “I’ll be right back, yeah?” she says to April.

“Yeah, of course,” April says, giving her a reassuring smile, knowing Leslie would bring her into the loop sooner rather than later. 

Shay walks to where her best friend sits and taps him on the shoulder.

“Scoot.”

He does, leaving just enough room for her on the bench, and the football guys break from the conversations to greet her. Before she’d gotten with April, when Gabby dated Jay and Shay spent every moment with either her or Kelly, the two girls sat at this table nearly every day. Needless to say, the guys were used to her hanging around and maybe even missed her a bit. But she hadn’t come for them.

“Spill it,” she says to Kelly, facing him head-on.

“What?” Kelly’s eyes hadn’t moved from his phone. So, she snatches it from him.

“Leslie, I am  _ not _ in the mood for this. Give it back.” There’s a pain in his voice behind the annoyance. Not to mention his very rare use of her first name. Maybe this is a bigger deal than she’d realized.

“Kelly, what is it?” She still holds his phone slightly out of reach over the side of the table, but the playfulness in her tone has disappeared.

“I don’t know what the hell you’re talking about. Give me my shit back. Now.” Shay looks at him and squints, he never talks to her like this. Even when they’re ribbing each other, which they almost always are, they’re only jokes. But nothing is funny to either of them right now. 

Now that she’s gotten him to look up, Kelly’s eyes seem sad. A fairly uncommon emotion for him. She decides it’s probably best to give him back the phone before he snaps, but not before she looks at the screen. It’s opened to a text message thread. Stella’s thread. She only gets a glimpse of the most recent one before he takes it from her, but it’s one of many outgoing messages from him, with no gray ones in between. 

_ Just tell me you’re okay. _

It reads. Leslie looks at him, her concern taking precedence over any other feelings she may have had over his response to her. 

“What happened?” she asks again.

“God, can you actually listen to me? For once? I said I’m not in the mood. There’s nothing for you to fix here, Shay. Walk away.” Kelly stares at her, his face unmoving.

Leslie certainly isn’t hurt by his words, but she is annoyed enough to follow his instructions and make her way back to April, but the cogs are already turning in her head… Leslie deciding if she can’t get the information out of her best friend, she will head to the other source.

When Shay enters Stella’s room, it takes her a minute to realize there’s anyone in it. Stella has buried herself so deeply under the covers that she’s nearly unnoticeable. If the field of tissues surrounding her are any indication, Stella has spent the last few days crying. After spying her friend’s form on the bed, Shay takes a couple of steps back and knocks on the doorframe.

“Gabby?” the voice mumbles from under the thick comforter. 

“She wishes,” Shay responds, and Stella immediately peeks out from under her hiding place so she can see her guest. Her hair is up in a sloppy ponytail, clearly done with the sole purpose of keeping it out of her face. She’s wearing a fairly tear-stained gray sweatshirt that really matches the mood of the room. But most noticeably, Stella looks exhausted. Her usually bright eyes appear dim and are encircled by faint bags, making it clear she’s barely slept. Leslie wants nothing more than to help her feel better.

“Oh. Hi Shay,” she says, forgetting to hide the disappointment in her voice. 

“Nice to see you too.” 

“Sorry, I just figured…”

“It’s all good, Stella. No sweat.” 

Suddenly, tears begin to fill the dark-haired girl’s eyes and Shay immediately gets close to the bed. She hovers by the bedpost, unsure if she should sit. She likes Stella and is pretty sure the feeling is mutual, but they’d only ever hung out in the group. She’d never been in this room, or even alone with her for that matter. But the sight of her new friend wiping away fresh tears after only a few moments of her being there is enough for her to lessen the gap between them.

“Are you okay? Did I say something?” she questions with worry.

Stella sniffs. “No, you’re fine, sorry. I just- Kelly says that, like all the time.” She lays her head back against her headboard and finishes wiping her face.

“Huh, I guess he does.” Leslie swallows. “Can I?” She gestures to an open spot on the bed.

“Yeah, of course,” Stella says, her voice low and apologetic. “Sorry about the mess. Is everything okay with Gabby?”

Shay nods, preparing to explain why she came by.

“Kelly?” Stella asks tentatively before Shay can begin.

“Well, that’s actually why I‘m here.”

Stella sits up against her headboard, moving the covers so they only cover her legs.

“He’s a wreck, Stella. He’s barely spoken to anyone this week. Kelly knows he screwed up with you; I can tell.” Shay explains.

“You can tell… meaning he hasn’t said it?” 

Stella would be lying if she said those words didn’t satisfy her a little bit. She doesn’t actively want Kelly upset of course, but misery loves company, and this whole situation is his doing. But if he hasn’t admitted to ruining things between them then why should she care how he’s feeling?

“Well no, not in those words. Like I said, he’s not really talking. And you and I both know he doesn’t say much to begin with. He misses you, and everyone knows it.” Leslie tries to clarify.

“Oh.” Stella doesn’t really know what to do with that information. Sure she’d avoided all of Kelly’s calls and texts, but that’s because she knows none of them say the one thing she wants to hear. But the thought of Kelly not even speaking to his best friend about what happened does add to the weight on her chest, and for the first time that week, she considers reaching out.

Shay kicks off her shoes onto Stella’s floor and sits criss-cross applesauce on the bed. She’s directly across from the taller girl with a small amount of space between when she breaks the short silence.

“Did I ever tell you about how April and I got together?” she starts.

“No, I don’t think so,” Stella says, confused by the seemingly random question.

“Well, I made the first move. No surprise there.” The brunette girl nearly laughs at the truth of the statement. “It was towards the end of sophomore year, but God, I’d been crushing on that girl for damn near two years. From the second I saw her, I wanted to know everything about her. She fascinated me, and to be honest she still does. I’ve never met someone so naturally kind in my life. She puts everyone before her, always, even when she shouldn’t, you know?”

Stella nods intently, far more interested in this story than she’d expected to be. Leslie is notorious for her confidence and blunt sense of humor, so seeing the softness in her eyes when she talks about April is something Stella finds incredibly endearing.

“Anyways, one Monday morning she texted me saying something about a hole in her bike tire. To be honest, I barely read anything after the words ‘can you pick me up’. I always thought it was cute that she rides a bike to school, but for the first time, I was really grateful for it. We’d been spending more and more time together, just as friends, of course. But I was tired of waiting, so I decided that was the morning everything would change. And in a way, I was right. I picked her up and made normal conversation the whole way to school. She lives kinda far, so it was super nerve-wracking. And then when we got to school, I parked. And I, uh, asked a much more drawn out and far less coherent version of will you go out with me. You wanna guess what she said?”

Stella feels as though this is a trick question. “Yes?”

“Nope. She got out of the car and slammed the door behind her.” Leslie says with a small smile.

“No way.” Stella is taken completely by surprise. Leslie and April are one of the most stable high school couples she’s ever seen. It seems impossible that things haven’t been smooth from the beginning.

“Yes, way. She rejected me right there in the parking lot. God, I was crushed. Not only had I been turned down, I’d destroyed one of my best friendships. I didn’t even go into school that day. Just sped back home and screamed into my pillow until my throat was raw. Gabby was there that afternoon. She knows, I was a mess. Kind of like someone else I know.” She lightly shoves Stella’s knee, earning a small smile from the other girl.

“But, as I’m sure you can tell, it didn’t end there. The entire week went by. We avoided each other in all of our classes, looked the other direction in the hallways, stopped texting and calling, I honestly thought I’d ruined us forever. But then, Friday afternoon came and just as I was about to pull off my car door opened and in came April.” Stella leans forward, fully invested at this point. “I remember her hands were really shaky, and she wouldn’t look at me. So I started to ask if she was ok, but then she was kissing me. And I swear to god fireworks went off behind my eyes. It was even better than I’d imagined. And it was totally like one of those movie scenes because when she pulled away she looked terrified, like she’d done something wrong. Until I leaned back in, and she finally relaxed. I’ll never forget the way I felt the first time I kissed her, Stella. She changed everything for me. I knew I could never go back.” Shay’s voice gets incredibly soft toward the end, as if she’s reliving the moment. 

“Shay, that’s so sweet.”

“It really was. I can’t imagine my life without her now. But as happy as I was that she liked me back, those four days after she rejected me had hurt like hell. So I had to ask.” Leslies pauses before continuing, clearly reaching the most difficult part of the story, “Turns out her parents are like super traditional, which in her case just meant homophobic. She grew up in a church full of people that hated gay people. For as long as April could remember, she’d been taught that a girl liking a girl was something to be ashamed of. So when I asked her out a million bells went off in her head telling her it was wrong. So, she left. The truth was that she’d liked girls, as well as boys, for a while, but she was, uh, she was scared to admit it to herself. Not to mention bringing it up to her parents. Needless to say, she had every reason to turn me down. And once she told me that I explained to her that she didn’t have to do this if she felt unsafe. I just wanted her happy, still do. But she wanted to try it, and thank god she did. We had to sneak around for a while, which I was fine with, and I always left it open for her to end things if she felt it was too much. But she never did. And I watched her grow from incredibly timid and withdrawn to unapologetically herself. Over the summer, she came out to her parents and I’d be lying if I said it went well. They were pissed, mainly that she’d been lying to them. Also because she was dating a girl. So of course we took a break. But in time, after a lot of difficult conversations that I wish she would have let me be there for, they came around. At least enough to let me date her again. The rules are still pretty strict, but it’s so worth it.” Leslie finishes with a sigh, and Stella feels much warmer than she had before the story began. She appreciates Leslie’s honesty, and it had been a nice distraction, but the relevance to her situation remains unclear. Apparently this shows on her face because Leslie speaks again.

“I said all that to say that you shouldn’t give up on Kelly yet. I know the situation is different but he’s facing all kinds of pressures you don’t know about. He likes you, Stella.” 

“Does he, though?” Her voice is small and Leslie has to strain to hear her. “I thought he did. But I thought wrong. He told me that, Shay. If he has feelings for me why would he lie?”

“I wish I knew the details, but I don’t. What I do know is that his eyes sparkle when he’s talking to you. I’ve known Severide for a very long time, and not once has he ever looked at anyone the way he does you. The only people I’ve ever seen him call are his mom, and you. Kelly cares about you. He fucked up, Stella, I know he did. But whatever his reasoning is, he’ll come around. I know it.”

“Okay.” Stella isn’t sure whether she believes her friend or not, but she knows she wants to.

“I’m sorry he hurt you, Kidd. You didn’t deserve that.”

Stella smiles softly, “No sweat.”

Leslie laughs and begins to move off of the bed. 

“So I’m supposed to head over to April’s but if you want me to stay here I totally can,” she offers.

“Nah, go see your girl. I’ll be alright.”

“Okay. I’m just a text away.” Leslie makes her way to the door.

“Thank you, Shay, for all of that.”

The blonde girl nods softly and heads out.

Kelly’s music plays at a deafeningly loud volume in his earbuds as he tries, and fails, to focus his science homework. Normally, he’d call Stella so they could work on it together over the phone. But that isn’t an option anymore because he’d managed to mess up the best thing going for him. He doesn’t hear his mother enter, and only looks up when he feels a dip on his bed. 

He takes out one of his earbuds, raising his eyebrows as she sits in front of him silently.

“Hey, Ma.”

“Oh, so I’ve been taken off of silent treatment?” she asks sarcastically.

“You weren’t on silent treatment,” Kelly speaks truthfully. He hadn’t intentionally stopped talking to his mother, he’d really just stopped speaking to everyone.

“You haven’t spoken more than two words to me since Benny came by.”

He takes out his other earbud and turns off the music with a sigh.

“If you really wanted to see him, Kelly, you could have,” she continues, “I just figured you wouldn’t be in the mood after everything that happened that day. You’re old enough to make your own decisions, well some of them, and I know that. You know I do.”

“I didn’t want to see Benny.”

“Well if it isn’t that, then what is it? Did something happen with that Stella girl?” 

Kelly scoffs. Something happened alright.

“Kelly, please. You’ve been moping around the house for days. Just talk to me?”

“Did you mean what you said?” he asks, staring directly at her.

Jennifer furrows her eyebrows, unclear on what her son is asking.

“When you said I’m just like him. Did you mean it?”

“Oh, Kelly.” She touches his arm gently, heartbroken at the realization that her words made her son feel this way. “Honey, that is  _ so _ not what I meant. I was frustrated with Benny, and I wanted him out of this house and away from you.”

“You still said it,” Kelly mutters, trying not to let the hurt show on his face.

“You’re right. I did say it, and I am so sorry that I did. You have to understand that I didn’t mean it the way you took it. I just meant-”

Her son stares at her expectantly.

Jennifer sighs, wanting her words to come out correctly this time.

“When your dad and I first started dating, we were around your age, and he was an entirely different man. He was respectful and kind and attentive...everything I looked for in a guy. From the day we met Benny made a point of sweeping me off my feet. On our one year anniversary, he treated me like a princess. And no one had ever done that for me before. He took me to this open field not too far from my house and brought out all these different foods he’d made himself. God, there were sandwiches and plates of pasta and fruits and sweets, all for me. He gave me this, uh, this gold bracelet with the words “Benny and Jenny Forever” engraved on it.” A sad smile appears on her face before going away as quickly as it came. “I’d never felt so loved, and when I looked in his eyes that day, one of the best days of my life, I saw my future. I wouldn't trade my time with him for anything, because he gave me you. And you, my love,” She blinks back her tears. “are the best thing that has ever happened to me. Kelly, you remind me of who your father used to be because you’d go to the ends of the earth for the people you love. But your heart?” She places a hand on his chest. “Your heart is all your own. That is what I meant, nothing more.”

Kelly feels as though the biggest weight had been lifted off of his shoulders. He was so terrified of growing up to be like his father, of hurting those closest to him, that it paralyzed him. But now, knowing that his mother didn’t believe that to be true, he feels invincible. And absolutely determined to win the heart of Stella Kidd.


	9. chapter nine

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> She watches as Gabby’s walls go back up, her friend only offering a sad smile as she picks her book back up, letting Stella know the end of this conversation was fast approaching as Gabby shut down. “Like I said. Some people are too important to lose.” Is all she offers before her nose is buried back in her book. 
> 
> or 
> 
> stella returns to school, and more importantly to kelly, as gabby deals with the weight of knowing the truth about matt’s home life.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> WE’RE BACK!!! oof i know this break was a long one (amongst already inconsistent updates), and shelby and i are both very sorry for that. but i do feel confident saying this one as well as the ones to come will be worth the wait. a lot of confrontations happen below, so be warned. as always, this same fic will be posted on FF under shelby's username @/peytfan4ever. thanks so much for reading <3 (my twitter is @/annasrae and shelby's is @/shelbersmarie_ if anyone wants to reach out!)

The obnoxious ringing of Stella’s alarm wakes her with a start, and she groans at the realization that today is the day she must return to school. Too many thoughts swirl in her mind before she even gets the chance to open her eyes. The subtle headache that had settled in her skull from constant, quiet crying returns once again. Leslie’s words from the day before echo in her mind, followed closely by Kelly’s. It’s a lot to process so early in the morning, and Stella reaches over and roughly hits her phone until the sound stops, knocking it off of her nightstand in the process. She kicks the covers off of herself like a child, fighting the urge to throw a full-blown tantrum. 

The morning after her fight with Kelly, she’d stalked into her dad’s bedroom with an entire excuse prepared for missing school. But one look at his daughter's somber face and puffy eyes were more than enough for Stella’s dad to allow her to stay home for the day. So, she’d gone back to bed and sent Gabby a short text saying she wasn’t coming in so she wouldn’t come by to pick her up. Stella spent Monday torturing herself with what-ifs and why-nots. The look on Kelly’s face as he firmly rejected her burned into her mind. He didn’t seem regretful or confused, just hollow and a little sad. Tuesday went almost identically, except Gabby came by and watched a movie with her until she fell asleep. It was nice, drifting away in the comfort of her best friend’s arms, and she managed to get him off of her mind. Then Wednesday came, and Gabby was gone. 

Shay was probably the least likely person to stop by Stella’s that day, yet she did. And with her came the words Stella had wanted to hear from the moment he sent her world crashing down. Kelly is sad too, and she is still torn between relief and guilt. She knows he handled her offer horribly, but maybe she shouldn’t have asked. The two of them had a really nice thing going, and the risk she’d taken simply hadn’t paid off. Unfortunately, she hadn’t gotten as lucky as Shay had with April. Kelly isn’t scared of being with her, he just doesn’t want to. The reality hurt like hell, but she’d had three days now to come to terms with it, and she’d be lying if she said she didn’t miss him. 

Even so, Stella refuses to ever let him that close to her again. She has to return to school today, per her father’s demand. He’d finally realized nothing is physically wrong with her, and after asking what’s wrong and being rudely shot down, he declared Wednesday as her last day home. Thursday morning arrived far quicker than she’d like, and now she stares at her beige ceiling for as long as she possibly can without risking tardiness. 

The grace period ends, and she reaches to the floor to retrieve her phone. There’s a couple of notifications from her social media accounts, but the message that catches her eyes is from Kelly at around eleven last night. 

I miss you.

She sighs, her resolve from only moments ago softening.

“I miss you too,” she mutters in response.

He’d texted her every day since she hadn’t shown up in school. Nothing obsessive or concerning, thankfully. Just a lot of apologies and general explanations that she’d read over and over again until they’d lost all meaning. She hadn’t responded once. It just isn’t enough for her. Kelly is the first person she’d opened herself up to in that way since Hannah, and while this is nowhere near as humiliating as that, it’s a sharp reminder that she seems to be completely incapable of ever getting the person she wants. Rejection is a soft spot for her, and he’d jammed a rusty knife right into it. Somehow, though, she knows that if he tells her he wants her and means it, she’ll be unable to resist.

So as a means of protection Stella decides to completely ignore Kelly. She knows she can’t keep it up forever, but today would be a start. It’s the only way she’ll make it without breaking. She’s tired of being sad over him. Stella gets up with a new purpose, clearing the dirty tissues and clothes off of her bed. The shower is therapeutic, and she releases a few tears in the name of finality. She emerges determined to put on a brave front, for herself and secretly so Kelly doesn’t know how badly he’d hurt her. If her mascara is a little thicker than usual, and her sweater a little lower cut, then so be it. A pair of black leggings and brown boots go on with the white top, and Stella gives herself a look of approval in the mirror before grabbing her things and leaving for school. 

She arrives in class moments before the bell rings, plopping in her usual chair just in time. Kelly looks over immediately, obviously taken by surprise by her presence. He continues to stare as he tries to gauge how she’s feeling. But for once, the expression on her face is unreadable, and Kelly is given a bitter taste of his own medicine.

“Stella! Nice to see you’re feeling better. Welcome back.” Mrs. Boden greets her with a warm smile as she searches the room to take attendance. 

“Happy to be here,” Stella replies, not missing the way Kelly’s eyebrows furrow in confusion. 

Mrs. Boden informs the students that their project due date is closer than it seems, and gives out a pop quiz on last night’s reading that Stella is pardoned from. The rest of the class is meant to be a discussion between partners for the project, but Stella uses it to catch up on her reading, leaving Kelly to his own devices. She anticipated feeling awkward or uncomfortable around him but at the moment she’s selfishly enjoying the rush of power at keeping him in the dark. 

Science plays out in a like manner, as Stella simply takes her spot and begins her observations on their daily specimen. Usually, they have stupid banter about Kelly’s drawing skills for at least five minutes before they remember to complete the task. And it’s at this moment that she begins to miss him again. Just like that, her resolve crumbles to fine dust. Ignoring him shifts from fun to agonizing, and she physically bites her tongue to keep from starting a conversation. When she steals a glance while he’s engulfed in his drawing, his face is blank once again. If there was ever an opportunity to make amends, it’s gone. The coldness behind his eyes had returned and somehow even harsher than usual. This time, she knows his warmth, and its absence is unbearable. Stella begins to wonder if she’d made the right choice in shutting him out. It’s by no means a permanent fix, and she may even be hurting Kelly in the process. But facing the truth of what he’d said to her hardly seems like a better option. She huffs, earning a brief look from Kelly, and sets her focus back on her notes, unable to handle the weight of the situation at the forefront of her mind.

Gabby runs her hands through her hair tiredly. She is happy to have Stella back at school; she is happy her friend is at least pushing through, even if she isn’t necessarily feeling better quite yet, she is just happy to see her up and out of bed and not having tears running down her face. 

It had been a trying week for Gabby. She had been doing what she could to be there for Stella, but she is well aware there was only so much she could do to help her. Stella doesn’t need her through all of this; she needs someone else. She needs Kelly to pull his head out of his ass and treat her like she deserves, Gabby thinks bitterly. 

Huffing out a breath she makes her way through the halls, heading for the lunchroom, ready to have at least a small break from her day. Truthfully, her mind had been a mess for a few days now. She is stressed and worried about Stella, but she is even more stressed and worried about Matt. 

The bruise that had settled on his cheek is healing, the angry red of the cut almost completely gone, but the bruise is just now starting to fade into a darker brown and yellow hue. Gabby is happy he will be able to get rid of that not so subtle reminder of what had happened to him… but she had not been able to stop her mind from racing since that Sunday night; it clouded with fear and worries endlessly. She finds herself constantly wondering where else similar bruises mar his otherwise perfect skin. She finds herself consumed by thoughts of what Matt goes through every time he goes home. 

She doesn’t want to bring it up with him. She doesn’t want to hound him with questions to make herself feel better, that isn’t what he needs. He needs support. He needs her to be a friend, not an interrogator, and she is doing her best to fit that role… Even if it means shoving all of her feelings down as deep as she can.

Gabby had finally admitted to herself after years of waiting and pining and telling herself she couldn’t… that she is in love with Matt. She finally thought they were getting a chance, and then he had started acting so off with her. Pulling away and running out from moments where she thought they’d take the next step, and that had hurt. Of course, it hurt, but then she found out the truth. He let her in. Matt told her his deepest darkest secrets and let her into the deepest corners of his heart. A place he had told her no one else had ever been let into before, sans Kelly. 

If she was worried before that her romantic feelings would ruin the friendship they had built she is so far past that now. Before she had fears that she would make things awkward. She had fears that she would ruin the easy friendship they had always had with some big declaration that he didn’t reciprocate. Now she’s too afraid of not only ruining the friendship but then leaving Matt to once again deal with this all on his own. 

In the last week, he had really opened up to her more and more. They texted every day, nearly all day. When things were getting rough at home, Matt confided in her. Whether it was a past issue that was weighing on him or one that was happening in real-time, and while she knew his father had come by a few more times, Matt had been clear that nothing physical had happened again. He had told her that it didn’t happen that often, he had even joked that she “caught the Casey family on an off night, and they were normally much tamer.” Gabby had managed a small chuckle, doing everything she could to ensure Matt was comfortable continuing to confide in her, but she would be lying if she said that hadn’t been on her mind for the past five days straight. 

She moves through the lunchroom, intent to find her table and have a seat, not feeling up for lunch today, her stomach in knots for the better part of the morning. Nerves and anxiety filling her system and making her not have much of an appetite at all. She settles down onto their normal bench, surprised to find she is the first to arrive for once, instead of the last. Gabby pulls her phone out, scrolling through her messages, finding a response from her brother. 

She had messaged him earlier, needing a brotherly chat, and Antonio Dawson was never one to shy away from giving his little sister whatever she needed. She smiles at the response he sent, feeling a slight weight lifted off of her just from the joking response she received.

Tell me you aren’t letting some jock get in your head, Gabriela Dawson? Please, because I swear if I have to drive my ass back to that city to have a talk with whoever has you so down lately, I'll do it with a smile.

Gabby types out a quick response, shaking her head at her big brother’s overprotectiveness. Though it was very sweet, she had to admit. 

“What’s got you so smiley?” Gabby jumps, her hand resting against her chest as she looks up to find blue eyes staring down at her. 

“Jesus Christ, Casey. You scared the shit out of me.” Gabby huffs as Matt takes a seat next to her. 

“Sorry.” He apologizes, but his grin is unmoving and she has a feeling he is anything but. Clearly he was pleased with himself for getting a rise out of her. 

She sends him a playful glare, checking to see Antonio’s response to her latest message. 

I love you too, baby sister. Call me if you need anything, you know I am always here.

She smiles at the message before setting her phone back down on the lunch table, focusing her stare back on the boy next to her. “It was Antonio.” She clarifies, answering his question. “Just checking in.”

Matt nods, but goes silent, tucking into his food. Gabby looks him over, taking in the fading bruise once more, before averting her eyes back to her phone, forcing herself to take her mind away from that, and him, and everything that all of this implied. 

Matt watches as she gnaws on her lips, scrolling through her phone, tension clearly set into her shoulders. He notices she doesn't have any food in front of her either, his brows furrowing. 

“You’re not eating?”

Gabby tenses slightly, something that doesn’t go unnoticed by Casey. He watches as she bites down harder on her bottom lip, barely looking his way as she shrugs. “Not hungry.” She explains simply… but it doesn’t sit well with Matt. 

He isn’t a fool. He had noticed her being off all week. Ever since she showed up at his place she had been acting off. He just isn’t sure why. He tried chalking it up to everything going on with Stella. He knows how close Gabby is to her best friend, and he knows she’s worried about her. Part of him hopes that’s all that is bothering her, but he has a feeling lingering in his chest that it isn’t. He has a feeling a lot of it is what happened between them on Sunday. 

The only thing Casey is having a hard time understanding is whether it is because she feels awkward about what happened between them, or if she isn’t sure how to act around him now… but the thing is, she’s still Gabby around him for the most part. She is even more supportive, more attentive, more concerned. Constantly checking in on him, asking how he’s doing, and he is having a hard time fully reading her right now. Something that in the past, hadn’t ever been an issue with them. Even at times, they weren’t fully in each other’s lives, they always had this connection. They were always able to read each other. 

Right now, Casey feels a little lost on that, and all he wants to do is understand what is going on with her. More than anything he wants to be able to be there for Gabby in the same ways she was there for him. 

He knows that they were close to finally having something, the past few times they were around each other before she found out about his family there had been a connection. He wasn’t blind to it. But now he is scared. Scared that maybe the reason she is acting so off with him is that she regretted it, or she didn’t want to be with him, not after what she found out. 

Maybe the reason she is really being here for him so much isn’t because of any feeling other than pity… and that is the nagging feeling in the back of his head that wouldn’t go away. Gabby is only still around because she pities him. Every fiber in his being wants to believe that isn’t the truth, that he knows her, and he knows she isn’t like that, but every single insecurity he has in his life has been laid out in front of her and he isn’t sure where she stands. He isn’t sure where they stand now and that was his fear all along about her knowing. 

“Is everything okay, Gabby?” He asks softly, suddenly grateful for the mainly empty table around them. 

Gabby finally pulls herself from her phone, her eyes meeting his. 

His eyes on her, the concern shining in his blue iris, it all has her wanting to confide in him. To tell him how worried she is. How scared she is for him. How much she wants to erase all the pain he has been through at the hands of his own father. 

She feels her resolve weaken, mulling over how to say what she’s feeling without pushing him away, or worse, making him feel like he couldn’t confide in her anymore. But then Shay is sitting down, Stella and April following as well. Their attention soon goes to those around them as April and Shay lead the conversation, pulling laughs from Stella and Casey both, Gabby doing her best to join in. The action comes easier as she watches Matt throw his head back in laughter, the brightness shining in his eyes as he laughs at Shay’s joke, Gabby doing the same before she can stop herself. 

She wishes more than anything she was stronger than this, and she is trying to be, but learning someone you care so much about has been through hell isn’t easy and she is doing what she can to cope. She can’t bring herself to confide in Stella, not only is her best friend going through enough right now, Gabby doesn’t feel comfortable telling anyone about Casey’s life. It didn’t feel like her place. 

She is too scared to confide in Matt. She doesn’t want to bog him down with her own issues about his situation. That wasn’t fair to him. He shouldn’t feel bad for telling her the truth, a truth she practically forced out of him when she showed up at his house that night. 

So, she is dealing with it alone. 

Watching Matt look so happy helps. His eyes shining with laughter as he and Shay joke about something that happened in one of their joint classes at the beginning of the day. Gabby does her best to keep up and laugh along with them, her eyes trained on the boy next to her. 

And once again she is hit with constant worry. How often does this happiness shine in his eyes when he is home? How often is that bright smile wiped from his features at the hands of his father’s terrible words or actions? 

The weight that had seemed to finally fall from Casey’s shoulders settled even heavier on Gabby’s heart as her mind continued to race with thoughts of a scared blue eyed boy and how all she wanted was to be able to rescue him from it all. 

Stella huffs as she moves into her best friend’s room, finding the brunette buried in her English book, music playing from her phone filling the room. Stella flops down on the bed, Gabby barely looking her way at the dramatic action, though it was something the two were aware normally came from Gabby, not Stella. 

Stella looks to her almost expectantly, waiting for her friend to ask her what is wrong, but Gabby doesn’t bite. The shorter girl simply flipping a page of her book as she continues to read. With another dramatic huff that is unanswered, Stella finally rolls over onto her stomach, looking at Gabby pleadingly and only receiving a raised brow in response. 

“Gabby.” Stella finally whines, earning a smirk from Dawson as she reaches out for her bookmark, making a show of finishing the line she was reading before placing the bookmark and closing up the book. She sets it down in her lap where her legs were crossed and finally settles her full attention on her friend. 

“Well, hello there, Stella. What can I help you with?” Gabby asks and though Stella can hear the sarcasm in her voice, she knows it’s the best she is going to get from her best friend right now. 

“I need help.” 

Gabby rolls her eyes, chuckling lightly. “Yeah, well I’m no brain surgeon.”

Stella reaches across the bed, slapping Gabby’s leg. “I am serious!” She cries, trying her best to hold in her own laughter as Gabby laughs out loud. 

“Okay, Okay.” Gabby concedes, holding her hands up in surrender as they both settle, “I am all ears, what is going on?”

Stella shoots her another look before finally settling down. “I don’t know what to do about this Kelly stuff.” She says softly, emotion already creeping into her voice that has Gabby softening. “Being at school today just confirmed for me, I really like him, Ella. I can’t keep ignoring him, but I also can’t just forget what happened or forget how I feel about him. I mean, he means a lot to me, and I want him in my life no matter what, but am I just supposed to act like my feelings mean nothing and go back to how it was before I poured my heart out and he shot me down?” Stella says exasperated, clearly lost in her own mind, and trying to make sense of all her racing thoughts on the situation. 

Gabby nods along, unfortunately understanding her best friend’s situation more than she cares to admit. Even if she had never professed her feelings, she gets better than anyone not knowing what to do with all these feelings. Not knowing whether letting them go or burying them is what is best for you and the person you’re feeling them for. 

“Listen, El. You know I love you, and you also know Severide is not high on my list, but I support whatever happens, as long as you are happy. You said yourself he hasn’t stopped messaging you to apologize… maybe he had a change of heart.”

Stella gnaws on her bottom lip, taking in her friend’s words, “He has, but I don’t know if that is so much a change of heart as it is he feels like an asshole for what he did.”

“As he should,” Gabby mutters. Stella rolls her eyes, but nods, knowing there was no arguing Gabby’s point. 

“What should I do?” Stella finally asks outright, needing some direction on how to navigate this situation.

Gabby huffs, leaning forward and gathering her thoughts. Her own situation mirroring this one and giving her some clarity. 

“I guess what you really have to ask yourself at this point is, is losing Kelly as your friend more important than your feelings for him? Because if it is then you have to find some common ground, El. If you don’t think you can still be his friend if he doesn’t feel the same way, then that is something you need to figure out, I can’t make that decision for you…” Gabby trails off, taking a deep breath before saying her next words, knowing just how deep they went for her. 

“If that isn’t the case then you need to ask yourself if you are willing to forget your feelings and try to move past them to keep him as your friend. If you are then great, but either way you need to talk to him, El. I get why you needed space, trust me I do. But if you really believe he is remorseful for what he did and he is apologetic, then it’s worth at least talking to him, and figuring out where you both stand with each other.” Gabby finishes. 

Stella looks at her intently, taking in her words and looking over the effect they seem to have on her friend, realization dawning on her more and more and she watches Gabby get caught up in her own thoughts. 

“Ella?” She finally prods, letting her own problems fall to the side. Gabby’s eyes snap to her. “You okay?” She asks, realizing she may have neglected Gabby and any problems she may have been having the last few days. Not even realizing until now that their conversations this week had mostly focused around her issues. 

Gabby quickly forces a smile, one Stella quickly notes doesn’t reach her eyes. “Yeah, I’m good, El.” Stella gives her a less than impressed look at her clear fake smile and deflection, but Gabby is quick to divert the topic back to her friend. “So, what are you going to do?”

Giving her the out, for now, Stella scrubs her hands over her face. “I don’t know. I have a lot to think about I guess. I just… I wish it was as easy as boy meets girl, girl meets boy, they fall in love, ya know?” 

Gabby laughs lightly, “Yeah, I do… but life is never that easy.” 

Stella nods. “Yup,” before she flops onto her back once more. “I really like him, Ella. I don’t know what to do. I don’t know if I can just forget how I feel like it was nothing.” She nearly whispers, that emotion creeping into her voice once more. 

Gabby nods, “I know, El… but sometimes you give up what you really want with someone because they mean too much to you to not have them in your life at all.”

It’s not lost on Stella that this conversation switched back to Matt Casey, whether Gabby wanted it to or not. She trains her eyes back on her friend, watching as Gabby gnaws on her bottom lip, wringing her hands together and avoiding any eye contact. 

Stella, rubs her leg, forcing her eyes to her and offering a sympathetic smile. “We wouldn’t be talking about a certain blond boy of yours, would we?” She prods, trying to gain some insight into Gabby’s thought process. 

She watches as Gabby’s walls go back up, her friend only offering a sad smile as she picks her book back up, letting Stella know the end of this conversation was fast approaching as Gabby shut down. “Like I said. Some people are too important to lose.” Is all she offers before her nose is buried back in her book. 

Stella shakes her head as she looks back up to the ceiling fan, Gabby’s words running rampant in her mind as she thinks of the boy that sparked this entire conversation.

Floorboards creak underneath Stella as she paces back and forth across her bedroom, cell phone in hand. All afternoon, she’d toyed with the idea of calling Kelly. On one hand, this could be her first chance at love. There’s no point in denying her feelings for him, even after the incident. She wants to be with him, that’s no longer in question. What she does wonder though, is if he wants to be with her. 

No.

It’s not a good idea.

You thought wrong.

Those words have played incessantly in her mind for the past four days. A record broke in her head, and she doesn’t know if it can ever be fixed. Stella knows she’s not crazy. She’d seen the looks, heard the flirting, and maybe those can be chocked up to who Kelly is with everyone. She’d always known him as a player. But then there’s the flashes of vulnerability she catches behind his eyes. And no one can tell her he didn’t try to kiss her that night in the art room. So, what changed? What could have caused him to switch off his emotions so abruptly? She would give damn near anything to know the answer to that question.

But even if she never does, even if they can never become anything more, Stella misses her friend. She misses making him laugh and secretly watching him draw. She misses the way he cracks his knuckles when he’s frustrated and clenches his jaw when he’s focused. Most of all, Stella wants to look into her favorite pair of eyes in the world again. She wants him back, even if it can’t be the way she dreamed of. And with that conviction, she opens his contact and presses the call button.

The phone rings twice.

“Stella?” Her eyes close immediately at the sound of her name on his lips.

“Kelly.” She swallows. “Hi.”

“Hi.”

There’s a humming sound in the background, and she wonders where he is.

“I just wanna be friends again,” she blurts out.

“Yeah?” His tone is neutral, as per usual, and she hopes to god that she’s making the right decision. 

“Yeah.” She tries her best to sound confident.

“Well, I don’t.” 

The line goes dead.

Stella stops in her tracks. That was certainly unexpected. What did that mean? Why wouldn’t he want to at least be friends? Had she really messed things up that badly? Dozens of questions fill her head as she tries to process what just occurred. Yet again, she leaves their conversation more confused than when she’d started it. Clearly, the wrong decision was made. They couldn’t be saved. The realization crushes Stella, and she throws her phone on the bed before escaping to the bathroom, her room feeling too large. Closing its door behind her, Stella stares at her reflection as her eyes water. Is this really the end? She shakes her head, too baffled to feel the impending sadness. Had this not been what he wanted? To be friends? After a heavy sigh, Stella opens the bathroom door, fully prepared to spend another night crying.

Needless to say, she’s completely surprised to see none other than Kelly himself leaning against her bedpost.

“Hi.” His voice is the softest she’s ever heard it.

Stella blinks, frozen in place.

“I don’t want to be friends,” he says, and suddenly she regains her composure.

“Yeah, you made that clear.” She crosses her arms over her chest.

“No, that’s not-” He sighs. “Stella I can’t get you off my mind.”

She scoffs, so far beyond confused at this point.

“I haven’t stopped thinking about you since the moment you yelled at me for nearly running you over. Every time I close my eyes I see your smile. I spend my whole day thinking of ways to make you laugh. I was an idiot for saying what I did, and I hope you can forgive me.”

A silence passes between them as she tries to process his words.

“I don’t want to be your friend, Stella, because I want to be so much more.”

She crosses the room, barely aware of anything besides the open and honest look in Kelly’s eyes. There’s no more than a foot of space between them when she speaks. 

“How do I know you mean that? Any of it. You really hurt me, Kelly. I really believed we could be something, something real, but then you-”

“Then, I made the biggest mistake of my life. And I’ll spend every moment from now on making up for it.” She stares at him deeper than she ever has before, and a warmth fills her chest. Suddenly, Stella feels as though she’s all that matters to him. But it’s still not enough.

“How do I know you’re telling the truth this time?” she whispers.

“Let me prove it to you.” He gently places his hand on her cheek, silently asking for permission. 

She nods slightly and closes her eyes as Kelly erases the gap between them. 

And then, Stella is flying. The world around them disappears as she finally kisses the boy of her dreams. The second their lips meet, she knows he means every word. There’s so much feeling, so much passion, that the brunette nearly cries. Fireworks burst behind her eyes and she briefly thinks that Shay was right before Kelly’s tongue swipes across her lips and every thought she’s ever had slips away. This moment is exactly how she imagined it; his lips are incredibly soft and his scent of cedarwood and gasoline surrounds her. Stella melts into the kiss and Kelly’s hands move from her face to waist, lightly pulling her closer. She gives in completely, bringing their bodies together as her hands settle on his neck. The moment seems to last forever, and neither of them would have it any other way.

Eventually, and much to Stella’s dismay, they are forced to come up for air. They separate a couple of inches to catch their breath, and a smile spreads wide on the teenage girl’s face.

“That was-“

“Even better than I imagined,” he finishes.

She can’t hide her blush at that, so Stella just looks back at him. The floating feeling had yet to fade away, and she can’t remember a time when she was happier. But then, Kelly’s matching smile falters and she furrows her eyebrows.

“I’m sorry, Stella.” He whispers, sounding pained.

She covers where his hand now lays on her cheek.

“I just…don’t understand. What happened?”

He sighs deeply and takes both of Stella’s hands in his as they sit on the edge of the bed.

“I know I never talk about my dad, but, uh, he’s a shitty dude. And the day after we went to the art room, he came by. He was being a dick like usual, and while he and my mom were going at it, she said I was just like him.” He pauses.

“Oh.” She squeezes his hand.

“No, it’s okay. She didn’t mean it that way; I know that now. But as soon as I heard it I spun out. You have to understand, Stella, my dad has hurt a lot of people, including my mom and me. It’s just what he does. And I couldn’t stand the thought of making you feel the way I used to. I didn’t want to hurt you. That’s why I did it. Not because you don’t mean anything to me, because you mean too much.”

Her heart melts for the second time that night, and Stella wants nothing more than to kiss away the guilt on Kelly’s face. And in a moment of euphoria, she realizes now she can. She places her hands on his cheeks this time and captures his lips in hers. It’s soft, with less fervor and yearning than the first. Just so he knows she forgives him completely. When she pulls away, he follows her lips and she grins.

“Thank you for telling me,” she replies softly. But he still won’t look her in the eyes. “I’m not mad, Kelly.”

“You swear?” He sounds like a small child, and she can tell he really thought he’d screwed things up for good, just like she had what felt like hours ago.

“I swear.” She makes sure her voice is strong so he knows she means it. 

“Okay.” The tension in his shoulders eases and she smiles, dropping her hands.

“So...now what?” Stella asks tentatively. 

Sure, she’d had a couple flings, but never with feelings this strong. This is the beginning of her first real relationship, or at least she wants it to be. But she has no idea what comes next. With all of the guys Gabby’s been with, she’s seen everything from one night stands and hookups to an odd talking stage before officially dating (most of them never got that far) and rocky, forced relationships. This excludes Matt, of course, who is an exception considering the fact that they’re literally in love. Regardless, this is brand new territory for Stella.

“Now,” he shifts slightly on the bed, “I hope I don’t sound too cheesy when I say, Stella Kidd, would you like to be my girlfriend?” There’s no reason she could possibly come up with for her answer to be anything besides yes, but his tone is still slightly nervous.

“Nothing would make me happier.”

Without warning this time, he kisses her and Stella swears she’ll never get tired of the sparks exploding in her chest. Somehow, this had become one of the best nights of her entire life. She finally got the boy with the ocean blue eyes, and she doesn’t see how things can get any better. 

Matt walks up the stairs that had become so familiar over the last few weeks. This isn’t the first time he had been here. In fact, over the last couple of weeks, he had been here a handful of times now. Whether it was out in her driveway, the basement to hang out with their group of friends, or the place where they had spent more time together in the past week, Gabby Dawson’s bedroom. 

He isn’t fully sure why he is here. All he knows is that today has been a terrible day, and all he wants is to see her. Because she was… everything. And on a bad day, he knew just seeing her face would make him feel better. 

He is also aware she hadn’t had the best day either. He knows something is bothering her. Something is dragging her down. He just isn’t sure exactly what it was. He had spent all day going over it, and had only come to one sound conclusion. 

As much as Casey wants to say it is stuff with Stella, he knows it isn’t. He knows it’s stuff with him. He knows what she knows now is weighing on her. He knows she is worried. He can see it in the way she constantly asked him how he was feeling, how she not so subtly asked him how his night was as if she wasn’t fishing for him to let her in on if anything had happened with his parents. 

He loves her for worrying, but he still doesn’t want her to feel the way she was. He doesn’t want her worrying like this. It’s the last thing he wants. 

When he steps through her doorway he can’t help but smile. 

Gabby is sat in the middle of her bed; her music that he could hear playing the minute he started his descent up the stairs beating rhythmically through her speaker while she bobbed her head along to it, humming softly to the music. Her hair was pulled up in a haphazard bun and the t-shirt she was wearing was swallowing her little body whole, her shoulder popping out of the gapping collar, while her short legs were crossed in front of her, the shorts she was wearing Matt took quick note left little to the imagination and he was nearly positive if she stood up the shirt she had on would cover them. 

“Casey?”

He forces his eyes back to hers and away from the venture down her body they had previously been on. He offers her a small smile. 

“Hey, Gabs.” She returns his smile, pulling her books out of his way. 

“What are you doing here? Everything okay?” She quickly follows up with, and that right there is already confirming what Casey had known to be true. 

He offers her a smile that he hopes is reassuring as he nods, taking a seat at the end of her bed. “Everything is good. I just wanted to come see you.” 

Gabby’s cheeks tint pink as she gnaws on her bottom lip, those words eliciting a reaction from her she was hoping to cover. “Oh.” She manages to mumble. 

Casey can’t hide his grin as he watches her squirm, wanting nothing more than to untuck her lip from her teeth. Knowing that was a nervous habit of hers that he saw often. 

He looks around, taking note of the multiple books littering her bed. “How’s the homework going?”

She sighs, clearly happy with the topic change as she rolls her eyes. “It’s going. AP Health is kicking my ass, but otherwise nothing too tough.”

Matt nods, “Well, I would love to sympathize, but you’re the smarty pants that insisted on taking AP Health this year.” He teases. 

Gabby shoots him a glare biting back her grin. “Yeah, well, I’m not going to get into med school one day without working my ass off in the science and math departments.”

“Touche,” he mutters.

“What about you? What had you in my bedroom at 8 at night? No homework?” She teases lightly, though she is looking him over carefully. Trying to ensure she can really take his words at face value and there is nothing more going on with him. 

Casey stretches his arms out, “Nah, some of us are just so smart we get it all done in school.” 

The brunette scoffs, untucking her legs and kicking her leg out, her foot barely making contact with his leg, causing Casey to nearly fall over with laughter. “Okay shorty, watch that temper.” He teases more, earning a pen flung his way, this item actually making contact with his chest. 

“You are so mean.” Gabby cries. “What are you doing here? Other than to pick on me?” 

Matt chuckles, tossing her pen back to her as they settle. He shrugs at her comment. “Like I said… I just wanted to see you.” He says softly, this time it’s his turn to blush as Gabby smiles. 

“Well, I’m not complaining then.” She says lightly, erasing some of the nerves that have settled into the blonde man’s shoulders as he returns her smile. “You’re always welcome here, Matt. Whenever you need.” She says softly, that heaviness settling between them again as he reads between the lines of her words. “Even if you are just here to pick on me.” She adds lightly.

Casey chuckles lightly, watching as she goes back to looking over the book in front of her. He is trying to find the best way to bring up what he wants to talk to her about, but he is coming up blank, unsure of what the best way to approach all of this was. 

A few minutes pass, Gabby writing a couple of notes down while he fiddles with his phone, trying to collect his thoughts. 

“I uh… I did want to just see you,” Casey starts, pulling her attention, “but I was also hoping we could talk.” 

Gabby is instantly tucking her lip in between her teeth once more, his words causing a heaviness to settle into her chest. “Yeah? About what?” 

Casey sighs, “You’ve seemed… off, since this weekend.” He starts gently, seeing Gabby tense up and knowing he is already treading in dangerous territory. “I just… I want to make sure you’re okay, Gabby. I know this weekend was a lot… and I just…” Matt stops, taking a breath, and trying to find the right words. He meets her timid brown eyes head-on, the words coming easier now. “I just want to make sure you know I am here for you Gabby. No matter what. What we have… I care about you, a lot, and I just want you to know you can talk to me.” 

Gabby smiles softly, despite the further heaviness that has settled into her chest at his words. “I know, Matt.” 

He tilts his head, not breaking their stare as he waits to see if she will take him up on that offer. Gabby finally looks away, suddenly realizing what he was wanting, and despite his assurances, she still can’t bring herself to unload her own worries for him back onto him. 

She finds herself mumbling out an excuse before she can stop herself. “I guess I have just been stressed with everything with Stella and what she’s been going through. I’m sorry I have been so off.” She rushes out, wincing at her own words, though it wasn’t a lie, she knows its only a half-truth. 

Casey nods, sighing internally when he realizes she won’t be sharing the rest of her concerns with him. “That’s understandable… She’s your best friend.” He reassures and watches as Gabby’s shoulder deflate, clearly relaxing when she realizes he won’t be pushing her for any more information… and though he wants to, he decides to leave it for now and hope that she will come to him when she is ready. 

“Yeah.” She says softly, wringing her hands together in her lap. “So, how are you?” She questions, finding Matt’s brow quirked in question. She tilts her head, making it clear what she was asking about. 

“I’m okay, Gabby.” He insists. “I told you, things have calmed down.” He reminds her, watching as she nods, plastering a smile on her face for his benefit. 

“That’s really good, Matt.” Gabby sighs. 

He nods. “Yeah, it’s been good. Alan, he doesn’t live with us. It’s normally just my mom and I, and things are pretty good between us. Alan hasn’t been by since earlier this week, and after Sunday I don’t expect us to be seeing him again for another week or two.” He tells her, watching as her shoulders relax further. 

“You and your mom, you guys have a good relationship?” She prods gently.

Casey smiles, “Yeah, we do.” This time Gabby’s smile matches his. “I mean, I don’t agree with the decisions she’s made where my dad is concerned, but other than that, we have a good relationship.” 

“That’s great, Matt. I’m happy you have her.” 

“Me too.” He says, “She asked about you actually.” He tells her, watching her eyes widen, earning a laugh from him at her expression. “She recognized you the other night, from middle school, and then football games of course.” 

Gabby nods, understanding now, but stays silent, unsure what to say. 

Matt looks down at his phone, seeing he has almost been here an hour now. “I should probably head out.” He says regrettably. 

Gabby nods, watching as he gets up, and moves to the door, a nagging feeling in her stomach stopping her from letting him go just yet. “Hey, Matt…” He turns around in her doorway, watching as she tugs her hair that has fallen loose back behind her ear. She sighs, gathering her words. “If uh… If anything happens again, with your Dad… you’d tell me, right?” She questions softly. 

Casey is instantly softening at her words, seeing the conflict in her eyes, and mulling over his decision to drop the topic earlier. He knows there is still a conversation they need to have, Gabby’s worry for him still clearly evident, even if she had tried to play it off. 

“Of course.” He insists. “I promise, you’ll be the first person I come to.” He assures, watching as her shoulder slack once more. 

Gabby nods, a shy smile falling over her face. 

Matt offers one back, “Goodnight, Gabby.” 

“Night, Matt.” 

He heads out the door, Gabby watching him go and listening as her front door shuts behind him a few moments later. 

She settles back into the pillows. Trying her best to focus on the works she had left in front of her and not on the boy that had consumed all of her thoughts long before he showed up at her door. 

Gabby knows what he said, She knows he said his dad hadn’t been around, and that he didn’t expect to see him again, and while she believed him, she still couldn’t get rid of the deep-seated fear she felt for him. Her worry never wavering as she thought about what all Matt would have to endure on the day his dad did show back up. 

Those thoughts keeping her up long after she had finished the homework in front of her and packed it away for tomorrow. 

  
  
  
  
  



	10. chapter ten

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Stella has to wipe the shock off her face when she takes in the blond-haired, blue-eyed boy they had just been talking about.
> 
> “Oh, uh… Hey, Stella.” Matt offers, shifting awkwardly on his feet before directing his attention back to Gabby. “I didn’t realize you had company, I can go.” He offers. 
> 
> Stella is quick to interject, “No, you’re fine. I was just heading out.” She offers, turning to give Gabby a quick look. A look in her eyes letting Gabby know that this conversation would be continuing at some point. Gabby shakes her head at her as she throws her few things in her bag and heads to the door. 
> 
> “Have fun on your date.” Gabby hollers after her. 
> 
> Stella turns around with a playful look on her face. “Yeah, you too!” She throws back, not sticking around to see her friends glare thrown at the back of her head as she heads out of the house. 
> 
> or
> 
> it’s time for stellaride’s first date! and dawsey takes a step in the right direction...or do they?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> GUESS WHO IS UPDATING ON TIME FOR ONCE! are you proud?? anyways this is very much a milestone chapter in my opinion, and i think you guys will enjoy it. i will say a section of this one focuses pretty heavily on dealing with anxiety/spiraling thoughts. as someone who deals with both very often it was really important to me to portray it as accurately as possible without it becoming triggering. my hope is that i walked that line but if not please let me know for the future i love feedback! i hope you all enjoy. as always, this same fic will be posted on FF under shelby's username @/peytfan4ever. thanks so much for reading <3 (my twitter is @/annasrae and shelby's is @/shelbersmarie_ if anyone wants to reach out!)

Harsh sunlight streams into Gabby’s room as Stella pulls the curtains open, buzzing with excitement. This doesn’t stir the sleeping girl though, and Stella groans. She gets onto the bed slowly, not wanting to put her friend in a bad mood before delivering the amazing news. 

“Gabby,” she whispers, sitting upright next to her. 

No response. 

“Gabby, wake up.” She speaks at a normal volume this time, shaking the girl’s shoulder.

Nothing. 

She squints, unsure at this point whether or not she’s being ignored.

“Ella, I have extremely urgent information to share with you.” 

The figure under the covers doesn’t budge.

Stella gets an idea, reaching over Gabby to where her phone lies on the nightstand. She picks it up, pretending to search through the notifications. 

“Why did Casey call you?” she asks in her most serious tone.

“What?!” Gabby replies immediately as she jumps up and snatches her phone from Stella’s hand in one swift motion. It only takes her seconds to realize what happened, and she turns to her friend with a scowl.

“I’m gonna get you back for that.” Her voice is cold, but after seeing the mile-wide smile on her best friend’s face, she lightens up.

“I knew you were awake,” Stella says simply, satisfied with herself. 

“Barely. It’s too early for this, El.”

“No, it’s not.” The taller girl is practically bouncing next to Gabby, and she puts her phone down to give her the full attention she clearly desires.

“Alright, I’ll bite. Why are you in a good mood before 8 in the morning?” She questions, rubbing her eyes.

“Guess.” 

“Or… you could tell me what you came over thirty minutes early for?” Gabby offers sarcastically.

“The sooner you guess the sooner this will be over,” Stella responds, getting antsier by the minute.

“Fine, you win. The only person that makes you act like this besides me is Severide. So I’m assuming this has something to do with him?” Gabby hopes she’s right. More than enough time had passed for him to get his act together.

Stella bobs her head up and down.

“Did you guys talk last night?”

“That’s one way to put it,” Stella smirks.

Gabby’s jaw drops at the implication. “You didn’t.”

“No! God no! But we did kiss.” She bites her lip.

“Wait, he was at your house?” Gabby asks incredulously. 

“Yes!” Stella exclaims, unable to hold back the full story any longer. “Ella, he was in my room! My actual bedroom. And he kissed me. In my room. On my bed. It doesn’t feel real. I pinched myself like twelve times last night.”

“El, that’s great. Really, it is. But did he apologize first? You and I both know he had no right to treat you the way he did.” 

She feels the urge to say more but stops herself short. As badly as she wants to share in Stella’s excitement, she can’t erase the image of her best friend sobbing just a few days ago in the very bed they sit in now. The last time someone hurt her like that was the Hannah incident, and there would never be a repeat of that as long as Gabby lived. Kelly is no stranger to kissing, but being vulnerable with someone is an entirely different story. Just the idea that he’d used Stella in any way made her clench her fists in anger.

“Of course he did,” Stella says this as if it’s obvious. But Gabby is still hesitant. 

“Stella, I know how you feel about him but if he doesn’t-”

“Gabby, listen to me. He came over to apologize to me for being such a dick. He explained the whole thing. There was this shitty situation with his parents and he got all in his head about it. He told me he didn’t mean it, and I believe him. I know the way you see him, trust me I do, and if you really truly think this is a bad idea, of course, I’ll call it off. But Ella, the feeling I got in my chest when he looked at me like I was his world, I just… He makes me so happy. And I’d bet everything I have that he made an honest mistake, and it will never ever happen again. He was a perfect gentleman last night and even left before curfew. I wouldn’t do this if I didn’t trust him.” Her voice is pleading; she wants nothing more at that moment than her best friend’s approval.

Gabby sighs, filled with a mix of emotions at the explanation. She’d be lying if she said she didn’t hear herself in Stella’s words. So many of them echoed true for her own relationship, in more ways than one. It’s not unlike the beginning of her feelings for Matt, and as concerned as she is that Kelly could screw up again, she’d be cruel to deny Stella the very opportunity she’d kill for right now. Plus, nothing beats the utter joy that she can feel radiating off of her counterpart. If Stella’s happy, so is she.

“Fine, I approve. But I’m never sleeping on your bed again,” she jokes.

Stella nearly screams, pouncing on her best friend with a bear hug.

“You’re the best! I love you and I promise you’re the first one I’ll call when anything happens. Good or bad.”

“I better be. But spare me the graphic details, please.”

“You mean you don’t wanna know how it felt when his strong hands-” Stella begins to tease.

Gabby covers her ears and yells loudly to avoid hearing any more.

“Stella Kidd, I swear to god if you say another word we will never speak again.”

Stella laughs, already enjoying her new power. 

“Okay, I’ll stop. But we need to get ready. It’s game day!”

“You were not this excited to get into your uniform last Friday,” Gabby grumbles.

“Last Friday I didn’t have a boyfriend.” Stella blushes instantly, surprised at her own use of the word, and lays back next to her friend. “I have a boyfriend,” she repeats.

“Yes, you do. And he just so happens to be the biggest pain in the ass at Lincoln Park,” Gabby retorts.

“Nah, I think you’ve got that covered.”

Stella barely has time to defend herself before a pillow is being slammed on her face.

The girls share a laugh as they pull into the parking lot, closing the car doors behind them as they prepare to go inside. 

“If anyone’s the pain in the ass it’s you,” Gabby taunts her best friend.

“Take that back!” Stella says fighting a laugh.

“Make me.”

Gabby awaits a snarky reply, but she receives silence. She looks up from her phone screen and realizes Stella is not walking beside her like before. Instead, she’s standing a few paces back with her eyes fixed on one spot. Following her gaze, Gabby finds Kelly leaned against his truck, locking eyes with Stella. She feels invisible between the two and rolls her eyes. She catches a pleading look in Stella’s eye when they finally break contact.

“Go, El, be with your boy. I’ll see you in there.” She heads inside the building hiding a grin.

Stella mumbles an “Ok” and walks to where Kelly stands. The bright gold 23 on his jersey catches the light, and she stops, admiring the view. Yet again, this doesn’t feel real. He’s smiling, directly at her, and she glues her hands to her side to keep them from going to her mouth. She finally gets to him and stands there nervously, unsure of whether or not she should speak first.

She doesn’t get a chance, though, because his hand is on her cheek and he’s kissing her. She tenses up for a moment in shock, and then relaxes into it. That feeling she’d craved from the moment he left her room returned as their lips moved together. He pulls back, smirking at how she follows his lips.

“Well good morning to me,” she breathes.

“Have I ever told you how hot you look in that uniform?” he says, his hand unmoving.

“You’ve mentioned it before, yeah.” She smiles at him.

“Good, because it’s true. You ready to go in?” He takes her in, paying extra attention to how well the outfit accentuates every part of her.

“Yeah, I am.” And she is. Stella’s never felt more excited in her life. 

He offers his hand to her, and she takes it without question, intertwining their fingers. 

“Thank you.” It comes out in a mumble so quiet Stella barely hears it.

“For what?” she questions as they make their way inside.

“Believing me.”

“Always.” She squeezes his hand softly.

They walk into Lincoln Park hand in hand, matching smiles on their faces.

The first semester of the school year seems to be flying by faster than either Stella and Gabby had expected. It is mid-October, and there are only two months left of the semester now. Which isn’t a big deal, except for the fact that with mid-semester coming, teachers are really piling on the homework and both girls are stressed with their current workloads. 

Gabby huffs, letting out a long groan as she falls back on her bed dramatically. Stella shoots a look from across the room where she sits at her friend's desk. Her best friend's dramatics are nothing new at this point. 

“This is how I die. I swear.” Gabby groans. 

Stella laughs lightly, finishing typing the last of her notes onto her computer and directing her attention back to the brunette, “I take it you are not enjoying that AP Health chapter as much as you thought you would?” 

Gabby shoots her a glare. “I never said I would enjoy it to begin with, I just didn’t realize just how damn time consuming it would be.” She grumbles. “I swear Mr. Richmond hates me and my social life.” 

Stella shakes her head, “Something tells me Richmond didn't have you and your social life on his mind when he assigned that project.”

Dawson sits up, putting the bookmark in her textbook before closing it. “Whatever.” She grumbles back, clearly still unimpressed. She scrubs her hands over her tired face, meeting her friend’s eyes from across the room. 

“I need a break anyways, my brain is rotting.” She jokes, looking over her long-haired friend curiously. “So, tell me, how are you and boy wonder doing?”

Stella laughs, shaking her head at her friends' not so subtle dig and nickname for Kelly before she is smiling brightly, unable to hold it in at just the mere mention of the boy she had been dating for just a week now. 

“We’re good. Really good, actually. I mean outside of school I haven’t seen him that much, but it’s still been really nice.” 

Gabby smiles, despite her feelings towards the boy in question, she would never get tired of seeing her best friend so happy. 

“That’s really great, El.” 

Stella smiles shyly, nodding at her friend’s words. 

A beat of silence passes and Stella looks Dawson over, a question that had been on her mind for the past week now on the tip of her tongue. “So, things with you and Casey seem to be going well?” She questions. 

She watches as Gabby tenses slightly, her eyes dropping to her book in front of her, “Yeah, I mean, we’re friends.” She offers lamely. 

Stella’s brows furrow at her behavior, “Yeah, I've noticed.” She says softly, looking over Gabby’s pulled away demeanor once more. “You two seem to be getting a lot closer lately. That’s good… right?” She prods. 

Gabby looks up at her, shrugging her shoulder and offering a smile, one that doesn't reach her eyes Stella quickly notes. “We’re friends, Stella. That’s all.” 

“Okay, but why is that all? I mean, a couple of weeks ago he was asking you out on a date and then you two were acting all weird and now you are as close as ever… but you are so dead set on being his friend only…” Stella pushes, her friend’s behavior with the blond boy and lack of explanation confusing her more and more over the past weeks. “What changed between you two?”

Gabby shifts uncomfortably, avoiding her friend's curious stare. 

She hadn’t told Stella anything about what happened with Matt. Originally it was because Stella had so much of her own stuff going on that Gabby didn’t want to pile on her own issues. Though now it had been almost two weeks since the night she found out about Matt’s family and Stella is doing much better, clearly. And yet, Gabby still can’t bring herself to tell her what happened. 

She doesn’t feel comfortable sharing Matt’s secret with anyone else. It doesn’t feel like her place… and sharing what he had confided in her felt like a betrayal to him, no matter how much she knows it would likely make her feel better to get to talk to her best friend about what had been weighing so heavily on her lately. 

“Gabby?”

She pulls herself from her thoughts and meets her friend's worried gaze once more. She forces a smile, “Nothing changed. We just… talked. It was nice. We just are moving on, you know? He isn’t ready for a relationship right now I think, and I don’t know if I am either.” She tells her, though she knows it's a lie and a weak cover-up that Stella will likely see-through. “We just are better as friends.”

Stella gives her a less than convinced look. “You and Matt Casey… better as friends?” She deadpans. “I don’t buy it.”

Gabby sends her a glare. “Well, you don’t have to buy it, Stella, but it is what it is.” She bites back, letting her frustration shine through. “Don’t you have a date with Severide to get to?” She asks, a quick attempt to change the subject that Stella immediately notices. 

She goes to interject, but a knock on the door frame pulls both their stares. 

Stella has to wipe the shock off her face when she takes in the blond-haired, blue-eyed boy they had just been talking about.

“Oh, uh… Hey, Stella.” Matt offers, shifting awkwardly on his feet before directing his attention back to Gabby. “I didn’t realize you had company, I can go.” He offers. 

Stella is quick to interject, “No, you’re fine. I was just heading out.” She offers, turning to give Gabby a quick look. A look in her eyes letting Gabby know that this conversation would be continuing at some point. Gabby shakes her head at her as she throws her few things in her bag and heads to the door. 

“Have fun on your date.” Gabby hollers after her. 

Stella turns around with a playful look on her face. “Yeah, you too!” She throws back, not sticking around to see her friends glare thrown at the back of her head as she heads out of the house. 

Gabby shakes her head, diverting her attention back to Casey as he grins. “Sorry about her.” 

He shakes his head, “You’re good.” He holds up his book that was in his hands. “So, you still want to work on this?” He asks. 

Gabby groans, but moves her other work off her bed and into her book bag before pulling out the novel that matched his own. “No… but we need to.” She offers. 

Matt laughs at her response, watching as she clears her bed and settles further over, giving him space to settle down beside her. 

“Well, this project is not going to finish itself, partner.” He jokes lightly. 

They spend the next hour going through the last two chapters they had been assigned and taking notes. After Gabby yawns for what must be the tenth time in the past hour Matt suggests they take a break, which she is readily agreeing to. 

“I think we made good progress.” She comments, fighting off another yawn. “If anything we are ready for the check-in next week with Mrs. Boden.” 

Matt nods. “Yeah. We’ll be fine.” 

Gabby settles back into the pillows behind her, running her hands through her hair. “Thanks for coming over to finish this. I’ve been so swamped with other work I completely spaced us meeting up after school yesterday.” 

Casey waves her off, “You’re fine, Gabby. I don’t mind; besides, I needed the break too.” He comments. 

Gabby’s brows furrow at his words, she looks him over carefully. “What… what do you mean?” 

Matt sighs, leaning back as well, their shoulders brushing together as they settle back. He debates not elaborating on his words. Gabby had finally started to seem better this past week like she was finally starting to push past some of what she had found out. But he also assured her if anything changed, if anything happened at all actually, he would come to her, and he isn't about to go back on that promise. Not when she had finally started to relax and believe him when he said things were calm at home. 

Against his better judgment he is opening up to her again, “My uh, my dad was at the house when I got home tonight.” He feels Gabby tense beside him, “He was arguing with my mom. I have no idea what all it was about, but he tried apologizing for what happened a few weeks ago, and I kind of blew him off. We got into it a little bit. Just his usual victim bull shit, nothing too bad.” He sighs, running his hands through his hair. “He left not long after, but my mom and I disagreed about how I handled him. She is back to defending him… which is nothing new, but after arguing with her too I just needed to get out, you know?”

Gabby nods, resting her hand over his. “I’m sorry, Matt.” She says softly, squeezing his hand in hers. 

“Thanks, Gabs.” He replies quietly, returning the action. “I’m good though, getting away for a bit helps… being here helps.” 

She smiles softly, tucking the hair behind her ear, her hand in his unmoving. “You’re always welcome here, Matt. Even if it is just to get away for a little bit.” She tells him. “I like having you here.” 

Matt grins, unable to wipe the smile off his face as he looks at her. 

They settle back into reading, both of them knowing there is one chapter left before they have fully caught up on their assignment, but neither of them moves far from where they sit, taking comfort in having the other so close. 

It’s another twenty minutes in that Matt looks over to find her head resting on his shoulder, her book slumped against her chest as she sleeps soundly. 

He smirks, knowing just how tired she had seemed over the past two hours he has been here and takes her book from her grasp, marking the page and carefully setting it down beside her. She shifts in her sleep, snuggling closer to him, and Matt freezes, not wanting to wake her. When she grips on to his arms and snuggles closer to his side he tells himself he is going to finish up his own chapter and then head out. Deciding to give her another few minutes to sleep… but he doesn't get that far. 

His own exhaustion takes over not long after hers. His head lulling against hers as his book falls to the side. Both of them taking comfort in the other’s embrace as the night wears on and they shift into each other's arms, falling into a content sleep together.

Half of the clothes in Stella’s closet lay on her bedroom floor as she examines herself in her mirror. This is her fifth outfit attempt since she’d gotten home, and she still isn’t satisfied. Why is this so difficult? She’d hung out with Kelly on more than one occasion and had never spent this much time deciding what to wear. To be fair, this is technically their first official date, and there’s an added sense of pressure that she doesn’t really know how to address. The cropped white shirt and high-waisted black jeans she wears now had seemed like the right choice when she’d put it on, but now she’s second-guessing herself. She begins to bite her nails as her mind races. 

A knock on her closed door grabs her attention.

“Stella? Can I come in?” Her dad asks.

“Yeah.”

He opens the door and she watches his eyes go wide as he looks around.

“Woah, did a tornado come through here?”

“Very funny. How do I look?” she questions, staring closely to get his honest reaction.

“Beautiful as always.” He smiles, clearly proud of his reaponse.

She sighs. “I’m being serious, daddy. This is important.”

“And why is that?”

“Why is what?” She tries in vain to act clueless, realizing her word choice far too late. 

“Why is it so important?”

“Uh,” she pauses. “I have a date.”

“Oh? Were you planning on telling me this?”

Stella looks at him, planning her response wisely. Malcolm Kidd is very much a protective father, and she’d kept the situation with Kelly under wraps because of it. They’d gotten off to a rocky start, and she doesn’t want her dad to have a distorted perception of who her boyfriend is. 

“Of course! He won’t be here for another hour. Plenty of time to let you know.” She smiles, hoping to avoid any trouble she may get in. 

“Well, tell Kelly I say hello,” Malcolm says as he heads for the door.

“How did you-” 

“And you look amazing, honey. Have fun and be back by curfew.”

He leaves before Stella can get another word in, and she turns back to her reflection, eyebrows raised. She doesn’t keep much from her dad, there’s never been a reason to. They’d always been close; he’d always understood her more than anyone else did. It had been Stella and her dad against the world for as long as she can remember. She loves her mother, but Angela came with a set of expectations and traditions that Stella had never been able to uphold. So she latched onto Malcolm, and up until fairly recently, she’d told him everything. He’s close to Gabby as well, and she wonders for a moment if that’s how he’d figured out about Kelly. The three of them certainly have a special bond. After her best friend, he was the first person she’d come out to. Gabby held her sweaty hand as she’d stuttered out the entire Hannah situation with tears in her eyes, terrified of his reaction. But to her surprise, he was nothing but supportive. He said all the right things: that he loved her the same, wanted her to be happy and was proud of her for telling him. Though they did have a wildly uncomfortable talk about her (platonic) relationship with Gabby. 

It’s nice knowing her dad is comfortable with this, but it doesn’t take the edge off of the overwhelming anxiety at the thought of their first date. She tries to remind herself that he’s the same Kelly that he’s always been, and there’s really nothing to worry about. The outfit she’s wearing grows on her again, and Stella moves on to the light layer of makeup she planned on applying. Time flies, though, and she hears a knock at the door just as she’s putting away her mascara. Her heart rate picks up as she realizes Kelly didn’t just shoot her a text. He knocked. And if she doesn’t get to the door before her father does they’re going to meet. Is Kelly ready for that? She’s pretty sure she isn’t. So she grabs her phone and wallet before racing down the steps, and thankfully her father is nowhere to be found. She opens the door with a smile.

Kelly looks up quickly, his hands behind his back. His eyes are brighter than usual, and the blue of his shirt complements them well. He’s wearing black jeans, a pair she’s never seen, and Stella nearly laughs at the fact that they’re accidentally matching. 

“Wow,” he says first.

“What?” She shuffles nervously. 

“My girlfriend is beautiful.” He grins.

“Oh my god, really? What’s she like?” she jokes.

“Well like I said she’s hot.”

“I think you said beautiful actually.” Stella interrupts.

He smiles. “Beautiful. Crazy smart. Sweet when she wants to be. A little too talkative for my taste, but-“

She punches him in the shoulder, mouth open.

Kelly smirks as he offers his hand and she takes it immediately, glad this is something he seems to do often. This isn’t the first time she’s noticed it, but he always holds her hand tightly, as if she’s about to let go. She wonders why, but not for long because he’s opening the door for her and kissing her before he closes it. Moments later, Stella is looking out the window when she realizes something.

“What are we seeing?” she asks, turning to him. 

“Hm?” Kelly turns down the radio, the random alternative song fading away.

“What movie are we seeing? We haven’t decided yet.”

“Oh, I just figured we’d decide when we get there,” he responds nonchalantly. 

“And hold up the line of people behind us? Absolutely not. We need to choose now.”

Kelly scoffs.

“God forbid people have to wait a couple of minutes to get inside.”

“I’m serious! We could make someone late,” she emphasizes, urgency evident in her tone, “What are you in the mood for?”

“You.” His tone is sincere, and she’d be lying if she said her heart rate didn’t pick up even more at that word. But this is more important.

“You’re cute.”

“I know,” he quips.

“But I need you to pick a movie before we get there.”

“Okay okay, something with action.”

Stella pulls out her phone to survey their options; she scrolls a bit before finding something that fits the criteria.

“Like The Fast & The Furious?” The offer is partially insincere, as she has absolutely no interest in the movie. But he said he wanted action.

“Yeah! Is that playing?” he asks excitedly.

“6:45,” she replies, immediately regretting her decision. 

They both glance at the digital clock in the car. It’s 6:15, and considering they’re about ten minutes away it’s pretty perfect time-wise.

“Great! Told you it was no big deal.”

“Mhm,” she murmurs. And almost like clockwork, Stella begins to spin out in silence. Initially, she’d been excited to see a movie with Kelly. Alone time with her boyfriend is certainly not something she wants to stray away from. That's not to say that she doesn’t want to go now, because she does, but now things feel more complicated. She’d asked him what he wanted to watch, so is it fair to ask for a movie other than the one he chose? Would he be annoyed with her? Angry, even? He’d sounded so interested in the movie; she can’t take that from him. Surely he’d hate her then. In mere seconds Stella is convinced she’d ruined not only their impending date, but the entire relationship.

“What?” he questions, confused by her lack of enthusiasm.

“Nothing. I’m glad we figured it out.” She smiles, but it doesn't reach her eyes. Her thoughts would be nearly impossible to explain to Kelly, so she tries to shove them down.

“You don’t sound glad,” he argues. 

It doesn’t work.

“Sorry.” She isn't sure what else to do.

“Stella.” He looks over at her before shifting his gaze back to the road.

“Yeah?”

“What is it? You were excited about this up until like ten seconds ago.”

“I am excited!” she replies, lifting her tone to make herself sound more believable.

“You’re a shitty liar.”

“You’re rude.”

Kelly glances at her once more before sighing and realizing this situation requires his full attention. He drives a little farther, waiting until they get to a side street, and pulls over. Turning the car off, he turns his body to Stella, meeting her confused eyes. 

“What are you doing?” Her tone comes off as defensive, but it’s not difficult to see there’s something she’s not telling him.

“Waiting for you to tell me what’s wrong.” He stands strong, determined to get to the bottom of the situation so she can return to her happy state.

“Kelly, can we please go? You’re gonna make us late.”

He doesn’t respond, instead reaching for where she’s picking at her nails in her lap. He pulls one of her hands away, intertwining it with his own. In the time the two had gotten close, Kelly picked up on a lot of the habits Stella has. Not just the physical ones, like biting or picking at her nails when she’s nervous or humming softly whenever he’s happy, but the emotional ones too. Like when Stella is upset about something, she almost never tells him. And if he doesn’t pay close attention to how she reacts, he will look over it completely. For a reason he’d yet to understand, she isn’t always comfortable just saying how she feels. It takes coaxing, something he’s happy to offer if it makes her feel better. Clearly, this is one of those times. So he holds her hand and waits for her to feel comfortable enough to say what’s on her mind.

“Are we really doing this?” she questions, her willpower weakening.

He nods. “I just want to know what’s bothering you, so I can fix it.”

She can’t help but be comforted by that, and Stella gives in.

“I don’t wanna watch The Fast & The Furious,” she forces out, breaking their eye contact.

“Okay,” he says simply. But she uses her free hand to pull on a loose thread on her jeans instead of replying.

“Stella?” he says softly, “It really is okay. I don’t care what movie we watch, as long as I’m watching it with you.”

“Are you sure?” she asks quietly.

“100%”

She sighs, and he can practically hear her overthinking.

“I’m sorry I made such a big deal out of this,” she admits, looking at him again, “I just didn’t want to make you mad? I guess? I know it sounds stupid and dramatic I swear I’ll work on-”

“You could never make me mad. Especially not for saying how you feel. It’s me, Stella. You don’t have to worry.” He squeezes her hand tightly, hoping he’s getting through to her.

Stella feels as though she could cry at his words. It’s such a relief, being with someone she’s so comfortable around. Obviously, as sweet as her boyfriend is, his kind efforts don’t erase her anxiety or the tendencies it comes with, but it sure as hell helps her feel better about it. 

“You’re the best, you know that?” she says, inching closer to his face.

“That’s all you.” He smiles and closes the gap, letting his eyes shut as their lips meet. The kiss is sweet and calming, and Stella can’t believe she landed a guy so caring. She begins to deepen it, completely caught in the moment when Kelly pulls away. “We’re gonna be late.”

“You don’t even know what we’re seeing,” She pouts slightly.

“Better safe than sorry,” he responds nonchalantly, but she grins at his change in attitude. Kelly pulls off again, and when he releases Stella’s hand she sighs softly, missing his touch. Then his hand is on her thigh, making her feel warm and safe, and her heart flutters once again.

“Can we see Lovebirds?” she asks hesitantly, “The trailer looked cute and it’s on at the same time.”

“Absolutely.”

As they stand in the surprisingly short concessions line—movie tickets that Kelly insisted on buying in hand—Stella leans over to him, a question on her lips. When she and Gabby go out places, whether it is to the movies or dinner or to get coffee, they have an unspoken agreement that Gabby does the talking. It isn’t something Stella has to ask for or even always needs, simply something they always do. To this day the girls operate this way; it’s their rhythm. But Kelly isn’t Gabby, and it has just occurred to Stella that he’s the first person she’s hung out with besides her best friend in more time than she would like to admit. With this in mind, she musters up all the courage she has left to ask if he’s willing to follow suit. But he beats her to it.

“Do you know what you want?” he asks, his eyes trained on the board as he decides for himself.

“I usually get Twizzlers and a small Dr. Pepper,” she responds, her order memorized and her heart warm.

“Wanna split a popcorn?” Kelly looks over at her this time, his eyes hopeful. He reminds her of a child when he’s like this, seemingly carefree and excited, as though the weight he always carries on his shoulders has been temporarily lifted. It’s such a pleasant departure from his normal expression, so of course, she agrees, nodding with certainty.

He smiles, stepping forward as their turn comes in the line. He orders everything, adding in a bottle of water for himself, and stubbornly accepts Stella’s card to pay for it all in exchange for the tickets. 

They’re seated in the theatre watching previews when Stella whispers to him.

“Did you really get water at the movies? You do know they have icees right? And all the best sodas?” She gestures to her own.

“Gotta stay in shape,” he says back, watching the screen, “Those touchdowns don’t make themselves you know.”

“You almost made us late putting butter in the popcorn,” she quickly reminds him.

“Shut up.”

She laughs softly, returning her gaze to the screen as well.

The movie is hilarious and heartwarming, just as she expected it to be, and Stella can’t help but split her focus between the film and the boy she has the pleasure of sitting next to. He seems entirely invested, even leaning over to whisper his plot predictions to her every once in a while. What she doesn’t notice is that when she becomes engulfed in the movie Kelly takes his turn admiring her. He takes a mental picture of the joy in her deep brown eyes as she laughs loudly at a comedic line, hoping to remember this moment forever. 

In a rare moment that they’re both watching the movie, they reach into the popcorn bucket simultaneously and consequently lock eyes, light blushes on their cheeks. 

By the time the credits roll, Stella is curled into Kelly’s side, the popcorn long forgotten. His arm is wrapped around her shoulders, holding her close. Neither of them want the moment to end, but the bright lights of the theatre combat their desires.

“Ready to go?” Kelly asks, slowly detangling himself.

“Mhm,” she says softly, still in their little bubble.

They stand and stretch before making their way to the truck. Stella only allows a few seconds to pass before speaking.

“Did you like it?”

“The movie? Yeah!”

“You sure?” 

“I loved it,” he replies, realizing what she’s really asking. “My favorite part was when the horse kicked that dude in the chest.”

Stella bursts out laughing, to both of their surprise. 

“That scared the shit out of me. I thought he was dead,” she adds.

“That was the funny part!” he nearly shouts, happy to hear her laugh once again. “Plus the girl was hot.”

“She really was,” Stella agrees.

Kelly looks over at his girlfriend, noting how the tension had eased in her shoulders. Her left-hand lays on the armrest, her right one out the window. For once, she seems relaxed, and he takes great pride in knowing he was a part of that.

“I had a lot of fun Stella, I mean it. The movie was great,” he says in a serious tone.

“It was, wasn’t it?” She exhales finally and thinks about how amazing of a time she really did have. Just being around Kelly calms her, and everything is so much easier to enjoy. The movie was nice, but spending time with him was what she’d remember most.

Far too soon, Kelly is pulling into Stella’s driveway, and they’re kissing each other goodbye.

“Want me to walk you in?” he asks.

“I think I can make it to my front door.” 

“Hey, I’m just trying to be a gentleman. No need for sass.”

“You love it.” She smiles.

“I do.”

Stella blushes before reaching for the handle.

“I had fun too, Kelly. Thanks.” She offers a slight awkwardness, unsure how to end this.

“Anytime.”

She grins and heads inside her house, waving one last time before closing her front door. After watching his truck drive away, Stella squeals, no longer capable of holding in her excitement at the best first date in history.

“Good night?” her dad asks from where he sits in the living room. Stella hadn’t noticed him, too caught up in looking out of the window. But nothing could ruin her mood right now.

“Great one.” 

Dawson snuggles further into the warmth underneath her as she slowly creeps into consciousness. She breathes in the manly smell and smiles softly. Her mind is clouded with thoughts of Casey and all she wants is to go back to whatever dream she had been having that he was in. His scent invades her mind, making that much clear as she snuggles deeper into her pillows. 

The pillows shift underneath her, and her brows furrow in confusion. Arm’s tightening around her waist and a heartbeat thumping under her ear have last night’s events flooding her memory. Stella was here, then Matt. They did homework… just homework… they were reading… and oh God, why does she not remember him leaving. 

Her eyes fly open, her head tilting up to find blue eyes that match her own confusion staring back at her. 

A knock on her door has her nearly jumping out of her skin. “Gabriela, time to get up.” Her eyes widen, it’s morning. As if the sun shining through her blinds didn’t make that clear enough. 

“Gabriela?” Her mother’s voice pulls her out of her state and she is jumping out of bed, Matt scrambling up as well. 

“I’m up, Ma.” She hollers, running her hands over her tired face, thankful when she hears her mothers retreating form head back down the stairs. 

Matt shifts uncomfortably on his feet, rubbing the sleep out of his eyes. “Gabby I… I didn’t mean to…” He starts, but Gabby is quickly cutting him off as she checks the time. 

“Oh my God, we are going to be late for school.” She mutters, suddenly flying around the room to get the rest of her homework in order. “My parents are going to kill me.” She mutters under her breath. 

Her heart was still hammering in her chest, well aware of the compromising situation they woke up in. She is having a hard time shaking just how amazing his arms had felt wrapped around her or how last night had been the best night’s sleep she had ever gotten… but right now she couldn’t worry about that. Right now she needed to worry about getting Matt out of her bedroom without her parents killing her and making it to school on time. 

“Gabs…” Matt starts again, seeing the brunette in full freak out mode. She goes to walk past him, headed for her dresser, but he rests his hands on her shoulders, stopping her in her tracks. “Hey, take a breath, it’s going to be okay.” He soothes quietly, though internally he was freaking out as well. 

He knows he can play off not coming home last night with his mom fairly easily if she even noticed he was gone at all. All he has to do is say he stayed at Severide’s and she wouldn’t bat an eye, but he can’t wipe away the feelings he feels from waking up with Gabriela Dawson snuggled into his embrace. 

Gabby shifts uncomfortably under his watchful eyes, gnawing forcefully on her bottom lip as she avoids his eyes. 

“I’m sorry, Matt… but you need to go. My parents are going to kill me.” Matt sighs, clearly reading between the lines that there was no further talk about this happening this morning and squeezes her shoulder before grabbing his jacket and book bag off the floor before turning to her bedroom door. 

Gabby’s near frantic voice has him stopping in his tracks “What are you doing?” 

He turns back to her, confusion settling into his features as he points to the door. “You… you told me to go…”

Her eyes widen further, “Well, yeah… but you can’t leave through the door, are you crazy? They’ll see you.” 

Casey looks at her in further confusion. “Gabby…” He trails off, unsure what she is wanting him to do here. 

He follows her eyes as she looks to her bedroom window and his eyes go wide. “Oh no… you’re kidding me, right?” He asks incredulously. 

Gabby shrugs sheepishly. “Come on, Stella does it all the time!” She whines. 

Matt crosses his arms over his chest. “Yeah, and I’ve got a solid 10 inches and 100 pounds on her.” He argues. 

Gabby looks him over, her head tilting to the side as she looks at him questioningly. Matt shakes his head as she bites back a smirk. “Okay, so maybe it’s like 6 inches and 75 pounds....” He concedes. “That is beside the point. I am not going out your bedroom window” He argues. 

Gabby’s pleading eyes and puppy dog stare say otherwise and he is soon finding himself nearly falling out the window that he is more than grateful is not any higher as Gabby throws his book bag out to him. 

He looks up at her, shaking his head. “I’m sorry!” She calls quietly and he has to bite back a laugh. “I’ll see you at school.” 

He offers a quick wave before heading across the yard quickly and hopping into his truck that was parked on the road, hoping he at least had time to get to school and shower in the locker room before the first period. 

Despite knowing she needed to be quick or she would be late, Gabby spares herself a few moments to collect her racing heart before she is rushing around her room to change and get herself in order. She sends a quick text to Stella letting her know to head to school without her as she sprays some dry shampoo and pulls her hair up into a sleek bun and washes her face. Deciding a fresh face and a quick swipe of mascara is a better look than yesterday’s smudged makeup. 

When she has finally gotten herself ready and only has 20 minutes to spare before the school day starts she is calling that a win. She takes a collecting breath before heading out her door and making her way to the kitchen. She stops in her tracks when she sees her parents there, her father has his head in the newspaper, and her mother is at the coffee pot. 

“Morning.” She calls, heading for the counter and grabbing an apple from the bowl before moving to the door. 

“Gabriela.” Her mom starts and Gabby is already pulling her keys off the hook, ready for her great escape. 

“I’ll see you guys after school.” She calls back. 

“Gabriela.” Her dad’s firm voice has her stopping with her hand on the handle of the door, she is already wincing just by the sound of his voice, but his next words have the blood draining from her face. “You know, Stella sure looked a lot different this morning sneaking out your bedroom window.”

Gabby turns back to them, her eyes wide as her parent’s hard glares focus in on her. “Papa…”

“Sit.” He orders and she gnaws on her bottom lip, wanting nothing more than to run out the front door instead, but she heads for the kitchen table as requested. 

“I’m going to be late for school…” She comments softly, still unable to meet her parents’ eyes. 

Camila settles down at the table next to her husband, “Oh, don’t you worry about that. They know you will be missing first period at least.” Gabby’s timid eyes find her mothers, “I called them as soon as we saw a boy sneaking out of our 16-year-old daughter’s bedroom window this morning.”

Gabby swallows thickly, the wood grain of the table suddenly the most interesting thing in the world as she avoids her parent’s eyes. 

“Gabriela, what was a boy doing in your room this morning?” Ramon bites out, clearly having a much harder time keeping his voice calm then what his wife was. The idea of his little girl and any boy, let alone a boy under his own roof enough to make his blood turn cold. 

The youngest Dawson winces at his tone but forces her eyes to meet his dark ones. “Nothing happened.” She quickly gets out. “We were doing homework and we fell asleep.”

Her dad runs a tired hand over his face but still doesn’t seem convinced. “Gabby.” Her mother starts, but she is quick to interject. 

“I promise you, nothing happened. Matt and I are just friends.” She says softly, her voice trailing off on the last sentences. Despite it being the truth and actually helpful in this case, it didn’t hurt any less. 

Camila shakes her head, sharing a look with her husband. 

“Frankly, I don’t care if you’re just friends, you know better than to have a boy in your bedroom that late at night, let alone staying over, Gabriela.” She tells her sternly, “Maybe we need to just evoke the boys being allowed in this house at all rule.” 

“What? No!” Gabby is quickly interjecting, “You can’t do that.” She nearly begs, her mind going back to Matt immediately and how she had told him he was always welcome here. She thinks about the multiple times Matt has shown up here over the past two weeks after a rough day at home and she doesn’t want to take that from him any more than she wants to take it from herself. 

Her father’s eyes widen at her outburst, “In case you are forgetting, this is our house Gabriela, we are the parents, we make the rules, and if we say there are no boys allowed here than that is final.”

Gabby takes a calming breath, her leg bouncing nervously under the table. “Please… you can’t. Matt, he…” Gabby stops herself, her mouth slamming closed. She had just stopped herself yesterday from telling Stella about Matt’s parents. She couldn’t tell her parents. 

Matt trusted her with this information, he trusted her and she can’t betray that trust. She can’t. 

“He what?” Her mom pushes. 

Gabby’s mouth bobs open and closed, trying to find any excuse to play this off, but all the fears she had over the last two weeks are flooding back in. The things she had pushed down, the feelings she had tried to get past. That weight that had settled into her chest every time she thought of Matt was back. His words from last night ringing in her head forcing her to slam her eyes closed, trying with everything she had to push it all away. 

Camilia and Ramon share a quick look of concern, watching as their daughter shuts herself off, as she clearly battles with an internal struggle. 

“Baby, what’s going on?” Her mom asks gently. “Is something wrong with Matt?” She prods. 

Gabby takes a shuddering breath. Trying to calm herself down. She forces out a nod. Willing the thoughts away. Willing the fear she felt for him away, but it won’t stop. 

Everything she had felt over the past two weeks bubbling over. 

She remembers that night, it plays on a loop over and over in her mind...

His clothes are rumpled, his normal put together self nowhere in sight. His hair is a mess like he has been running his hands through it and his eyes are bloodshot, but that isn’t really what catches her attention. 

It’s the red surrounding his right under eye, a cut on his upper cheek. The red would clearly turn into a bruise soon if he didn’t get some ice on it. 

She remembers telling him she was there, that she would always be here...

“You say that now Gabby, but this-” He points to his eye and back to the house where she could still hear the faint screaming match going on. “...this isn’t even the half of it. You don’t need to get mixed up with me and all this.” 

Gabby remembers the image that hadn’t left her since that night…

Her mind is flooded with thoughts of a small blond-haired boy cowering in the corner while a much larger man hurls insults that he is much too young to hear his way, his sad and terrified blue eyes shining with tears 

Her mind goes back to last night and what Matt had shared with her...

“My uh, my dad was at the house when I got home tonight. He was arguing with my mom, I have no idea what all it was about, but he tried apologizing for what happened a few weeks ago, and I kind of blew him off. We got into it a little bit. Just his usual victim bull shit, nothing too bad.”

“Mija…” Her dad’s hand on her own pulls her from her racing thoughts and she forces herself to meet his concerned stare. “What’s going on, Mija?” He pushes gently.

“You can’t… you can’t stop him from coming here, daddy, please…” She begs, her words coming out quick as her breaths grow shallow. “He needs me, please, you can’t…” 

“Woah, woah, woah… Gabby. Take a deep breath, Mija.” He soothes, scooting closer to her and running a hand over her shaking back. “It’s okay.” He soothes. 

Gabby tries her best to calm herself, but the flood gates are already open, her breathes coming quicker as her mind is flooded with it all. 

“...Gabby, honey, just tell us what is going on. We can help if we-” Camilia starts slowly, trying to break through the anxiety that had flooded her normally so put together daughter.

Gabby slams her eyes closed, losing the battle to hold in what she had promised herself she wouldn’t tell anyone. 

“Mija…”

“Matt’s dad is abusive.” 

Silence. 

You could hear a pin drop in the Dawson household as both Camilia and Ramon sat stoic, trying to absorb the information that their daughter had thrown at them.

Camila clear her throat, “What… what do you mean he is abusive?” She prods gently, not wanting to push her already upset daughter any further. 

Gabby swallows thickly, trying to will the tears that have settled into her throat and eyes. “Matt’s dad… he is abusive. Verbally…” Camila watches as the tears that had settled in her child’s eyes finally spillover. “...and physically, too.”

Ramon Dawson tenses, the rage that courses through him palpable from across the table. Camila runs a shaky hand over her mouth, trying to understand exactly what had been told to her. 

Ramon takes a calming breath, “Gabriela…” He starts slowly, the tears streaming down his daughter’s face causing the ache in his chest to deepen. “What happened?” He prods gently, pushing away the anger he was feeling, his only concern giving his daughter a safe space to confide in them what clearly had been weighing on her so heavily. 

The floodgates open, and before Gabby can stop herself she is explaining everything that she knows to her parents. She is telling them about the Sunday she showed up at his house, about the bruise on Matt’s face. She is telling them about all the other stories Matt had shared with her, and she is telling them how heavily it has all weighed on her since. 

By the end of the conversation, she is curled into her father’s side as he rubs a soothing hand up and down her back and her head rests on his shoulder. 

Camila shakes her head once her daughter has finished, scrubbing her hands over her face. “We need to call someone.” She voices, ready to get up from the table. 

Gabby’s eyes fly open wide as she pushes herself to sit up, “What? No! Mom, you can’t!” She pleads, her voice quickly turning desperate. Camila’s hand pauses over the phone, her eyes going to her child’s. 

“Gabby…” She starts but is being cut off. 

“Please mama, please… you can’t. Matt trusted me with this, he trusted me to keep this secret. I can’t betray his trust, please.” She pleads, tears welling in her eyes once more. 

“Baby, if what you are saying is true, this is much bigger than betraying his trust.” Ramon tries, but Gabby shakes her head vehemently. 

“You think I don’t know that?” She argues. “I know how big this is. I know this isn’t some small thing that can just be brushed under the rug. I know.” She bites, scrubbing her own hands over her face to calm herself. “I know, but tearing Matt’s life apart shouldn’t be our choice. Can you please just… drop this for right now?” She pleads. “Matt says his dad doesn’t come around that often.” 

Camila and Ramon share an uncertain look, their need to take care of their daughter’s needs, and their strong desire to take care of the boy they barely knew but was obviously struggling pulling them in two different directions. 

Gabby interrupts their stares, “Please, I promise I will let you know if something more happens, but can you just drop this for now? Let me talk to Matt some more… I’m only the second person he’s ever told, and I practically had to force it out of him. He relies on me, he trusts me… please don’t ruin that.” 

Camila sighs, sharing one last look with her husband before reaching out and squeezing her daughter’s hand. “We will hold off,” she says reluctantly, watching as her daughter sighs in relief. “But Gabby, you need to tell us if something happens, okay? And I don’t want you over there at his place,” Gabby goes to interject, but Ramon is beating her to it. 

“...we don’t want you there, Gabriela, but Matthew is welcome here anytime.” He tells her, watching her eyes water once more as she nods, a newfound relief flooding her system. 

“Thank you.” She says softly, the emotions of the day creeping up on her. 

“Your father and I do want to formally meet him though.” Camila interjects, watching her daughter sigh, “...I don’t want to hear it Mija, we want to get to know the boy that is going to be spending so much time at our house.” She says lightly. 

Gabby rolls her eyes. “Mama…” Camila laughs lightly, happy for the lightness that has slowly crept into the air after such a rough start to the morning. She looks her daughter over further, a knowing smile falling on her lips as she takes her in further. 

Camila shares a brief look with her husband before her eyes fall back on her child. “You love him.” She says knowingly, watching as both her husband and daughter’s eyes widen, Ramon looks like he could puke while Gabby just looks mortified. 

Gabby shifts in her chair uncomfortably, gnawing on her bottom lip as she twists her hands together in her lap. “He’s just a friend, Ma.” She says softly, her eyes glued to the table.

Ramon looks at his wife and daughter curiously as Camila squeezes her daughter’s hand from across the table once more. “I never said he wasn’t.” She prods carefully, forcing Gabby to slowly lift her head, meeting her mother's eyes. 

Gnawing on her bottom lip once more Gabby nods. “I care about him.” She admits softly, avoiding their gaze once more. “He means a lot to me… but we really are just friends.” She tells them. Ramon and Camila both nod, neither losing sight of the fact that she never said she didn’t love the boy in question. Gabby runs her hands through her hair, her emotions getting the best of her once more. “I’m sorry I didn’t tell you earlier. I just didn’t know how to. All of this… since I found out, it hasn’t been easy. I wasn’t sure what to do, and I’ve just been really scared, and worried…” Gabby trails off, thickness gathering in her throat as she tries to explain everything she had been feeling. 

Ramon’s eyes turn soft once more as he rests a comforting hand on her shoulder, pulling his daughter closer, the younger Dawson settling comfortably into his side, gratefully for the comfort. 

“It’s okay, Mija. It’s all going to be okay.” He reassures gently, pressing a kiss to the top of her head and rubbing a hand along her back. Gabby settles further into his embrace and feels herself fully start to relax for the first time in weeks. The weight that had settled into her chest since learning of Matt’s situation lightening at finally being able to speak out about it all. 

“Just… if Matthew will be making a habit of staying the night, it better be on the couch.” He teases lightly, feeling his daughter release a watery chuckle as she nods against his chest. 

Ramon shares a look with his wife, though they were both happy to have the transparency with their daughter… The heavy feeling of anger that had settled into his chest wouldn’t dissipate as he continued to think about Matthew Casey and what kind of man could ever lay his hands on his child.

Ramon Dawson’s blood boiled at just the thought, and he vowed to do whatever he could to make sure not only his daughter but the boy that had captured her heart never had to deal with that man again. 

  
  
  



	11. chapter eleven

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Did you mean what you said?” Gabby whispers, hoping not to disturb Shay and April. 
> 
> “Hm?” 
> 
> “About it all being worth it.”
> 
> Stella looks over to the loveseat as Leslie makes a joke about how unrealistic the movie is and April giggles loudly, snuggling closer to the blonde under the blanket that now fully covers both of them. She glances down at Gabby, the girl’s eyes trained on the screen as she awaits an answer.
> 
> “Absolutely.”
> 
> or
> 
> the girls have a sleepover! a night of fluff to prepare you for a day of angst <3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> another proper update? who are we? this is genuinely one of shelby and my favorite chapters. a LOT happens between all of the main characters and let’s just say someone finally snaps, and it’s not who you expect. i hope you all enjoy! as always, this same fic will be posted on FF under shelby's username @/peytfan4ever. thanks so much for reading <3 (my twitter is @/annasrae and shelby's is @/shelbersmarie_ if anyone wants to reach out!)

**So You Brought Out The Best Of Me; A Part Of Me I’ve Never Seen**

Chapter Eleven:

  
  


“I vote Chinese food.” Shay comments. “If we haven’t decided on something by the time April gets here she’s going to choose pizza, and if I have to eat another gluten-free thin crust, veggie pizza I may actually lose my mind.” 

Stella and Gabby both stop their descent down the stairs, turning to look at Shay with raised brows. The blonde throws a challenging look back. “What!?” She cries, “I love the girl to death but I can only handle so much of her diet,” she defends. 

Stella holds her hands up in surrender, not wanting any part of that argument while Gabby rolls her eyes and chuckles, continuing her walk down the stairs while Stella and Shay trail behind. 

“Fine Shay, Chinese it is.” Gabby calls over her shoulder as they head into the kitchen, turning back briefly to see Shay throw her hands up in victory before sharing a look with Stella, the two of them both shaking their heads at her antics. 

It is Saturday night and Gabby, Stella, Shay, and April are having a sleepover at Gabby’s house. The four girls not having spent as much time together over the past few weeks, decided to take a night to relax, binge on junk food, and watch some incredibly cheesy movies. 

The doorbell sounding as they head into the kitchen has Ramon rising from his seat, but Shay is quick to stop him. “That’s just April I’m sure. I got it, Papa Dawson.” She calls moving through the house she knows like the back of her hand. 

Ramon chuckles softly, an amused expression filling his features as he shares a look with his wife. 

Gabby shakes her head at her retreating friend and heads to the kitchen drawer that held the take out menus. She searches for the Chinese menu before heading back to the table where both of her parents sat dressed in their dress clothes, ready to head out for their own evening plans.

“Is it okay if we go with Chinese for tonight?” She questions, Ramon and Camilia sharing a quick look before her mother is nodding. 

“Of course sweetheart.” 

Gabby nods, a grateful smile filling her face. “Thanks, mama.”

“You girls have any big plans for tonight?” Ramon asks. 

Gabby shrugs, looking over the menu. “Just hanging out.”

Stella nods as the Dawsons’ eyes travel to her. “We rented a couple of movies on our way home from the mall this afternoon.” She comments. 

Shay and April come back through the kitchen entrance, pulling everyone’s attention to them. Camila gets up to place her mug in the sink, pulling April into a quick hug. “Hey honey, how are you?” 

April smiles brightly, no stranger to the warm welcome the Dawson’s always had to offer. Gabby’s house had become the central location of cheer get-togethers and countless sleepovers ever since elementary school. 

“I’m doing well, Mrs. Dawson. Mr. Dawson.” She chirps, offering a wave from where she still rested against Camila’s side. “Thanks for having us.” 

Camila waves her off, offering one last hug before moving across the room in search of her purse. “How many times do we have to tell you, it’s Camila and Ramon, and no thank you necessary. You all know you are always welcome in our home.” Ramon nods his agreement, getting up from the table as well. 

Camila pulls her credit card out of her wallet, handing it to her daughter. “You can put the food on that. Just save the receipt for me.” Gabby nods. 

“Thank you.” She tells her before pulling her mother in for a quick hug knowing they are on their way out. She moves into her father’s embrace next, her dad placing a kiss on top of her head. 

“Be good.” Her mother starts, sharing a look with all the girls who had become like family over the years. “...no burning the house down, no alcohol, and no boys.”

Gabby pulls back from her father's embrace, shaking her head at her mother’s comment. “Yeah, yeah I know.” 

Ramon chuckles pulling his coat on over his shoulder. “Yeah well, maybe you should make sure Matt knows that.” He comments. 

Gabby rolls her eyes, ducking her head at his words. The conversation they had after her morning with Matt yesterday is still fresh in her mind. 

Shay, April, and Stella’s eyes all snap up from the menu they had started to look over, their stare leveling in on Gabby as she squirmed under the intense glare. 

Gabby nearly gulps as she sees her friend’s eyes all on her. Camila and Ramon head to the door, offering one last goodbye to the girls and letting them know they’d be home later but other than a few scattered goodbyes, they don’t get much in reply. 

As soon as the door clicks shut Shay is pouncing. 

“Gabriela Dawson, you  _ slut _ !” She exclaims, her eyes shining. “You spent the night with Casey and have been keeping the details to yourself.” She cries, nearly bouncing with excitement. 

Stella looks at her friend curiously, completely shocked at not having heard this news yet, even more surprised to be finding out something so big from her best friend’s parents. 

Gabby shakes her head, running her hands through her hair. “It’s not like that, Shay.” She interjects. 

Shay shakes her head. “Uh huh. Not like what? You and Casey finally got your shit together and you didn’t think to tell any of us?” She asks.

Gabby rolls her eyes. “We aren’t together, Shay.” She quickly gets out. Shay’s brow-raising in question. “We aren’t. We are just friends. We were doing homework and fell asleep.” Gabby explains. 

Shay nearly deflates, clearly not loving that answer while Stella tilts her head, looking her friend over once more and seeing the near dejected look falling over her. “When did this happen, Ella?” 

Gabby’s eyes meet hers as she gnaws on her bottom lip nervously. “Uh… Thursday night.” 

Stella’s eyes widen. “You mean… after I was here?” She asks, Gabby nodding. 

April crosses her arms, biting back a smirk. “Wait…  _ why _ are you two just friends again?” 

Shay nods eagerly, “A question for the history books.” She comments, her brunette friend shooting her a quick glare. “What? I mean you two are so obvious, it’s a question everyone is wanting an answer too.” 

Dawson shakes her head. “Can we drop this? Casey and I are just friends. We’ve gotten closer. He’s been going through some stuff and I’ve been there for him.”

“I bet you have.” Shay mumbles, Gabby shooting her another glare before she is holding her hands up in surrender. 

“You are terrible.” April laughs at the blonde. 

“As a friend.” Gabby clarifies. “That is all. We fell asleep working on our English project and woke up the next morning nearly late for school.” She further explains, but leaves out the crucial details of how waking up in his arms made her feel and how she wished they were far more than friends… or why Matt had come to see her to begin with. 

“Now…” Gabby starts, picking the menu that her friends had sat down back up and holding it out to them. “Instead of worrying about me, can we worry about food? I am starving.”

She raises her brow, nearly daring any of them to challenge her, and thankfully with a smirk Shay and April go back to looking over the menu while Stella keeps her eyes on Gabby. Knowing there is likely more to the story then she was letting on, but not wanting to dive into it right now. Despite knowing Gabby was incredibly close to Shay and April, Stella also knows Gabby is not one that likes being put on the spot, and trying to push her further about her situation with Matt while they were all in this group would only have her defenses rising more. So, Stella decides to let it go for now… but she is determined to talk to her best friend soon about the blond boy that had clearly been spending more time here than she realized. 

For now, though she would drop it, and let them all enjoy their girl’s night together. 

After much debate, they all decide on their meals and Gabby calls in the heaping order of Chinese food, the girls digging in immediately as it’s placed on the table, getting their fill of food before heading down the stairs. 

They all settle into their various spots in that basement, Stella taking her place in the recliner she’d claimed as her own years ago. Leslie and April sit together on the loveseat, a thick baby blue blanket covering their legs as they sit criss-cross applesauce. Gabby chooses the floor as she’s still eating her food and doesn’t want to dirty the chairs. 

Stella giggles lightly as she stares at her phone, her fingers quickly tapping on the screen as she formulates a reply. 

“What’s so funny?” Gabby asks, the noise distracting her from her conversation with Shay.

“Hm? Nothing,” the brunette responds quickly, turning her phone off.

“Nothing my ass. Tell Kelly it’s girls night.” Gabby squints at her, toeing the line between joking and serious.

“I never said it was him.” Stella attempts to defend herself.

“You didn’t have to.” Gabby mutters to herself. 

Stella furrows her eyebrows, confused at the now clear annoyance in her best friend’s tone. She begins to respond, something snarky on the tip of her tongue when Shay interrupts, sensing the tenseness of the situation.

“Tell Kel how badly I’m gonna bust his balls for not being able to go thirty minutes without talking to his girlfriend,” she jokes. 

“Alright, alright you guys win. I’m saying goodnight right now.” She types out a quick text saying just that, forgoing the mention of either comment from her friends and promising to talk in the morning. 

“What movie are we watching first?” April asks, secretly excited to indulge herself in the corny films.

“Well, we rented a couple of movies, but...” Stella grabs the remote from the arm of her chair and opens Netflix before searching through their options, “I’ve been itching to rewatch Hitch for ages. It’s been so long.”

Gabby laughs immediately. “Yeah, I’m sure you have.”

Stella glares at her, a silent warning.

“Am I missing something?” Shay asks. 

The short-haired brunette raises her eyebrows at Stella, asking permission before her response. 

“Go ahead,” Stella says, torn between embarrassment and amusement.

“Let’s just say Eva Mendes in Hitch was an...awakening of sorts for Stella.” 

Leslie’s jaw drops. 

“I KNEW it! I always got a vibe from you,” she exclaims.

April hits her girlfriend on the arm, her eyes wide.

“Les, you can’t just say that to people! We’ve talked about this,” she pleads.

“What?! It’s a compliment! I said the same thing when I met you and when I met Dawson. So far I’m three for three.”

April and Gabby roll their eyes in unison.

“It’s fine.” Stella chuckles. “But if you had said that to me my first week at Lincoln Park I probably would have transferred again.”

She says it lightheartedly but the truth behind the statement settles in the air.

“Really?” Shay asks, baffled. “Why? I pride myself on putting out a man-repelling vibe everywhere I go.”

“I, uh, I had a shitty experience at my last school,” Stella replies, realizing in that moment that she’d never told them the story. 

“What happened?” the blonde questions, clearly not sensing her friend’s hesitation.

“You don’t have to, El.” Gabby interjects, slightly unsure of where Stella stands with explaining the situation.

“Nah, it’s fine. I trust you guys,” she says softly, and she means it. This school year so far has forged a bond between Stella and the two of them; they spend the majority of almost every day together, and she’s grateful to call them her friends. Not to mention, being surrounded by other girls who like girls comes with an indescribable comfort that she’s basking in at the moment.

“Was it your parents?” April asks quietly, thinking of her own experience.

“No, actually. My dad was cool with it once I told him. And my mom, well, she thought it was a phase when she found out, and thankfully she wasn’t home to fight with me about it. So that wasn’t really the issue. Basically, there was this girl called Hannah that I fell hard for and-” Stella hears Gabby inhale slightly, clearly bracing herself for her least favorite part of the story. 

A sadness fills Stella at the guilt she knows her best friend may never be able to fully rid herself of, and she rethinks her word choice before continuing. “And I decided to tell her how I felt, despite only being out to Gabby at that point. It was impulsive for sure, but I think Ella’s support made me feel like anything was possible.” The shorter girl smiles at her, comforted by the sentiment. “Long story short my entire Catholic, all-girls school found out I was bi and harrassed me for the rest of the school year. So after explaining all of that to my dad, he let me switch to Lincoln Park.” She finishes feeling lighter than when she’d begun, a pleasant surprise. Stella really has no issue being herself around them, a position she is not at all accustomed to being in.

“I’m so sorry, Stella,” April offers, sympathy evident in her voice.

“That’s fucked up,” Shay responds, putting another barbecue chip in her mouth. 

“Eh, it’s ancient history now. Plus, it got me here, so it was worth it.” She grins at the girls.

“We’re very glad to have you in our lives too, Stella.” April’s smile is wide as she replies.

“Alright enough with the soft shit. Time to make fun of straight rom-com’s,” Shay says, earning a laugh from her counterparts. 

“So we’ve settled on Hitch?” Stella asks, ready to begin the movie.

They all agree and Gabby gets up to turn off the lights before squeezing in next to Stella on the recliner, a behavior far from foreign for the two. As the opening credits begin, Gabby rests her head in the crook of Stella’s neck, exhaling quietly as the taller girl rubs her back softly. 

“Did you mean what you said?” Gabby whispers, hoping not to disturb Shay and April. 

“Hm?” 

“About it all being worth it.”

Stella looks over to the loveseat as Leslie makes a joke about how unrealistic the movie is and April giggles loudly, snuggling closer to the blonde under the blanket that now fully covers both of them. She glances down at Gabby, the girl’s eyes trained on the screen as she awaits an answer.

“Absolutely.”

“So, after running for nearly three miles, Jay gets back to the field, and of course we are all just dragging ass at this point,” Kelly explains, laughing lightly as he recites the story for Stella. One that the rest of the table knows all too well. “We are all just exhausted. It’s blistering hot. We are some lanky freshmen that can barely keep up and have been getting our asses kicked up and down the field for a solid hour before we even started to run,” he continues to explain while Matt shakes his head from his seat across the lunchroom table, a grin filling his face as he remembers the situation. 

Stella laughs lightly, hanging on her boyfriends every word as she listens to him, the bright smile on his face as he tries to hold in his own amusement at the story he is telling making her grin further. There’s always an excited air around Kelly when he’s talking about football, and she loves it. 

“Anyways, all the seniors and juniors are already back at the field waiting for us and I am practically pulling Jay’s ass back to center field. We step up to the guys and before anyone can say anything Jay just goes green immediately and is hurling his lunch all over the freshly mowed lawn.” Kelly chuckles, Stella’s nose turns up at the image. “The guys are of course mortified and laughing at him.” 

Gabby shakes her head, stabbing into another bite of her lunch and chewing slowly as she holds in an eye roll at the story she had heard more times than she cared to admit. It is one she could practically tell herself by now. 

“Then Coach shows up from the sidelines, head buried in his clipboard, not paying any attention and he steps right in it.” Stella laughs loudly, her hand coming up to cover her mouth as Shay and April laugh along with her, Kelly pausing for a moment to collect himself before continuing on. “I think he was more pissed about the field than his shoes.” He chokes out around his laughter. 

Casey chuckles rubbing his hand along the back of his neck. “Yeah, I’m not sure I have ever seen Whitey so pissed.” He agrees. 

“He starts freaking out, wanting to know immediately ‘who destroyed his damn field’ and before I can even think about it I am throwing myself on the grenade and saying it was me,” Kelly explains and Stella opens her mouth in shock. 

“Kelly! Why would you do that?” She admonishes. 

He shakes his head, still laughing. “Trust me, it was one of the dumbest things I have ever done. Coach made me stay late and clean his field before the game the next day and even after that made me sit out the whole game.” Stella smirks.

“You are insane.”

“Yeah, maybe… but even if I sat out I redeemed myself.” He flirts lightly, never one to shy away from busting his own ego when it comes to the sport he knows he is great at, Stella rolling her eyes as she blushes. “And it definitely earned me some props with the guys.” He continues. “I became the coolest freshman.” He gloats, looking at Casey pointedly. 

The blond boy shooting him an incredulous look as he flings his napkin at the brunette. “Ah yes, because that was something to strive for.” 

“It was for me.” Kelly continues joking. 

Gabby rolls her eyes as the rest of them laugh, unable to bite her tongue any longer. 

“Yeah well, we all know you’d do just about  _ anything _ to impress Jay and the upperclassmen.” She mumbles, her dig silencing the whole table. 

Kelly shifts uncomfortably, sighing before digging into his food and ignoring the comments that he had grown used to at this point. The tense air doesn’t seem to dissipate as everyone remains silent, Stella looking at her friend with a sharp glare. 

Shay clears her throat, ready to interject and clear the air, but it’s Stella’s next words that have her slamming her mouth shut and her eyes going wide. 

“God, Gabby… you really can be a bitch sometimes.” Stella breathes out, still shocked by her friend's dig. 

Matt and Kelly’s eyes both go wide, their stare snapping to both girls. Matt looks Gabby up and down, watching as she sets her shoulder, wiping the shock off her own face as her jaw sets. Whereas Kelly looks at Stella in complete surprise, never expecting her to stand up to Gabby in that way, let alone over something like this… something for him. 

“Stella,” he says softly. “It’s fine.” 

Stella looks away from her friend’s hard stare and meets his blue eyes, her brown ones softening as she looks at him. “No, Kelly. It’s not.” She tells him, knowing despite how much he sat there and took it, Gabby’s constant digs that she had been witness to since the beginning of the school year were something that weighed on him, whether he ever admitted it or not. 

Her stare goes back to her long time friend. “That was so unnecessary, Gabby.”

Dawson raises a challenging brow. “Really? You want to do this?” She asks, clearly unimpressed with her friend inserting herself in the feud that goes far beyond Stella’s realm of understanding. 

Shay nearly gulps at the thick tension that has settled between Stella and Gabby as they stare at each other from across the table. 

“Stella, maybe you should just drop it…” She tries to interject, knowing better than almost anyone that this wasn’t a fight anyone could win. The hurt that Gabby felt and turned around into anger from her longtime fight with Severide went deeper than most could comprehend. Shay had tried time and time again to squash the tension and had nearly come out with battle wounds every single time. The grudge Gabby holds is not one that is letting up. 

Stella interrupts the blonde. “No, I don’t think I will. You all let her treat him like shit and stand by and say nothing.” She fights back, Shay being taken back by the harsh words, but keeping her mouth shut, knowing despite her not wanting to fully admit it, it is true. She’s stuck between a rock and a hard place in this feud and somehow she had managed to never picked sides… but maybe she had let far more slide than she should have. 

Gabby rolls her eyes, scoffing. “Please, you date him for three weeks and think you know him, El. You don’t, and you have no idea what happened between us, so just leave it alone.” She bites out. 

Stella remains strong despite the dig, knowing more than anything that Gabby is just projecting her own hurt onto her. 

“Of course I don’t know what happened between you two. Because  _ you _ haven’t told me Gabby.  _ You _ haven’t explained…” 

“Well, it sure as hell seems like you’ve heard all you needed to from him.” Gabby bites back, nodding her head to the brunette that sits silently by his girlfriend’s side, unsure what to do at this moment. 

Stella shakes her head, her tongue running along her lip. “Kelly hasn’t told me anything other than that  _ he _ messed up, and he regrets it. He won’t go into detail because he doesn’t want to disrespect you and tell me things you clearly aren’t willing to share.” She tells her, her voice steady. “Despite how absolutely awful you’ve been to him he still cares enough not to disrespect you or our friendship.” 

Gabby wavers for a moment, her glare softening for only a moment. Stella’s words surprising her. 

The bell rings, calling an end to lunch and Gabby is nearly jumping to her feet. Leaving her lunch tray and throwing her bag over her shoulder without looking back. Her heart hammering in her chest at the altercation. 

She feels someone behind her and takes a deep breath, steeling herself for it to be Stella or even Shay. Wanting more than anything to distance herself from this conversation and take a breath. 

She is eternally grateful when she looks over to find Matt at her side instead, letting out a relieved breath that is cut short. Her own anxiety reminding her he could also be just as annoyed with her as Stella and Shay likely were… Kelly was his friend as well. 

“You okay?” He asks softly, keeping up their slow pace as they walk through the hall. 

“Yeah, I just…” She trails off, steadying her breath.

Matt nods understandingly. “It’s hard.” He fills in simply and she meets his eyes as they stop in front of her locker. 

She nods. “Yeah.” She answers, looking down. “Shay and Stella… they don’t exactly know the whole story like you do.” She answers softly. 

He nods, knowing Gabby hadn’t shared the story with Stella, but also that she hadn’t been fully truthful with what all Kelly said about her that night to Shay. “Do you want me to talk to them?” He offers. 

She smiles lightly, shaking her head. “No Matt… I appreciate it, but no.” She trails off. “I need to deal with this on my own, unfortunately.” 

Matt gives her a reassuring smile.”Well, you know I am here if you need anything.”

She gives him a grateful look. “Of course...” She trails off, looking down. “You’re not mad at me?” She asks cautiously. 

Matt’s brows furrow. “No, of course not…” He sighs, seeing the way she is beating herself up, Stella’s words clearly getting to her more than she cared to admit. “Gabby.” He says softly, pulling her stare back to his, he offers a reassuring smile. “I could never be mad at you. You and I both know there is a lot more to this than just a couple of digs you throw his way.” He tells her. 

Casey shakes his head, taking a hesitant step closer to her. “Kelly is my friend… but so are you… I may not pick sides on what happened… but you mean a lot to me Gabby, and I get that what all happened… it hurt you.” Gabby looks away, swallowing thickly as she nods. “I will never judge how you choose to handle it.” He reassures. 

Gabby smiles lightly, “Thanks, Matt.”

They share another small smile, Matt squeezing her shoulder comfortingly before heading down the hall to his next class, leaving Gabby alone to catch her breath. 

Gabby knows she needs to talk to Stella and clear the air. She had promised herself she wouldn’t put her in the middle of her issues with Kelly and while she hadn’t tried to, she should have known better than to make those comments in front of her. It wasn’t fair to make her have to decide between defending her boyfriend and her best friend. 

And how can Gabby ask her to defend her when she hasn’t exactly let her in on why things were the way they were between them. 

Shaking her head and forcing herself to clear her thoughts Gabby grabs her book and slams her locker shut, heading down the hall to her next class knowing now wasn’t a time where she could fix anything. The test she had coming up for AP Health the only thing she could be focused on.

The complexity of her homework and the relentless thoughts swimming in Gabby’s mind place her in her own world as she tries to focus. She’s chewing on the end of her pencil when a dip in her bed causes her to look up. Stella sits in front of her, an apologetic look on her face. Gabby closes her binder immediately; she’d been planning on heading over to her friend’s house later that night to discuss what happened.

“I’m sorry,” both girls release at the same time. 

“No, it was my fault.” Gabby continues, speaking over Stella. “I shouldn’t have come for Kelly the way I did, not in front of you at least. I never meant to put you in that situation, I swear. I’ll work on it, El.” She doesn’t regret what she said; Kelly deserved it. But practically forcing Stella to choose between her best friend and her boyfriend isn’t fair, even if it hurt a little bit that she took Kelly’s side over hers.

Stella sighs, knowing how difficult this must be for Gabby as well. Whatever Kelly had done, it clearly cut deep. And until the two of them work it out, as much as she hates fighting, she’s afraid this situation will only repeat itself.

“Listen Ella, you know I love you. And if for some reason I actually had to choose between you and Kelly, you know it’d be you in a heartbeat. But to be honest I never thought you would ever put me in that position. You have to believe me when I say Kelly has been nothing but an amazing guy as long as I’ve known him, and I know you guys have a complicated history but he’s a part of my life now, and it would really mean a lot to me if you could accept that.”

Gabby chews at her lip, struggling with the words to form a response.

“But I am sorry. I didn’t have to snap at you that way in front of everyone. I know this can’t be easy.”

“You’re right. It’s not,” Gabby replies, trying to keep the frustration out of her tone.

“Can you just do me one favor?” Stella asks, already pleading with her eyes.

Gabby raises her eyebrows, awaiting the request.

“Talk to him?”

Gabby groans.

“Please Ella, for me? I know this is really touchy for both of you and I’m gonna tell him the same thing. I just...can’t stand to see two people I’m so close to at odds all the time. I’m not saying one conversation will fix everything. But it’ll at least be a start?”

“El, I-”

“I’ll drive you to school for two weeks.” Stella bargains.

“I choose the music?” Gabby responds.

Stella squints before giving in.

“Fine. But I expect a detailed rundown of the conversation.”

“Deal.” 

Gabby holds out her right pinky, waiting to fulfill an age-old tradition between the two friends, and Stella does the same before they both lean forward, pressing a quick kiss to their linked fingers.

“Thank you, Ella. This means a lot.”

“Mhm. You better tell your boyfriend to behave.” Gabby’s already returning her attention to her schoolwork, the conflict now dissolved.

“No promises.” Stella shoots her a wink at which Gabby scoffs, and then she’s gone.

“Hi superstar,” Stella says as she enters Kelly’s room. It’s a nickname she’d used to mock him once when he was bragging about his seemingly infinite touchdowns, but she caught a twinkle in his eye at the sound of it. So, the name stuck.

He’d been leaning against his headboard with his legs crossed, intently reading their chosen novel for English. She grinned; he’s so cute when he’s studious.

“Hi.” His tone is softer than she’d expected as he closes the book, curiously not marking his page.

She stays in the doorway, the words she’d rehearsed on the way over suddenly disappearing from her mind. Instead, she asks what she wants to know most.

“Are you okay?”

“Yeah,” he answers briskly. Stella cocks her head to the side. “I’m fine, Stella. Gabby has been angry at me for years, I’m used to it. Trust me that’s far from the worst thing she’s said to me.”

“That...doesn’t make it any better,” she replies, already regretting her decision to talk to him about this.

“I know.” He realizes she hasn’t moved. “Come here.”

Kelly opens his arms in invitation, and Stella immediately gives in. She kicks off her shoes and climbs onto the bed next to him, resting her head on his shoulder and tucking her legs in. He wraps his arm around her and just like that, Stella feels as though she can take on the world. He always has this effect on her. And the fact that Kelly knows being this close to him makes her calm and open-minded begins to worry Stella. But when he dips to kiss her on the top of her head, that is the last thing on her mind.

“I do want to talk to you about something.”

There it is.

“Yeah?” She has no idea what direction this is going to go.

“Don’t sound so worried,” he says first.

“Don’t sound so serious.”

“I don’t mean to. I just wanted to say that when that happens again, because I’m sure it will, I don’t want you to ever feel like you need to choose between Gabby and I.”

Stella sucks in a breath. Is this his twisted way of breaking up with her?

“Hey, stop that.” He interrupts her thoughts.

“Stop what?”

“Thinking about what I’m gonna say before I say it. It’s not good for you.” The words seem stern but he says them so purely she really can’t argue back.

“I’ll try.” And Stella does. She focuses on the sound of his voice in an attempt to drown out the overwhelming thoughts she has in anticipation of what will come next.

“Basically what I’m trying to say is I know you and Dawson have this crazy tight bond. And I would hate to be the one to mess with that. I know she loves you and you love her. So just, don’t stick up for me anymore, yeah? Thank you, really, but I promise I can take it.”

Stella sighs. In a perfect world, once Gabby and Kelly talk none of them will be in that situation ever again. But there’s a decent chance that will only make things worse. She doesn’t want to agree to this, because in a way she’s still choosing. Gabby is her priority. No person can change that. But the feud between Gabby and Kelly takes its toll on both of them, and if she doesn’t play her part in resolving it everyone suffers. 

“You’re very sweet, but I’m hoping that won’t have to happen again.” She tries to ease her way into the request.

“I can try not to upset her, but-“

“No, that’s not what I mean.” She swallows. “Clearly whatever actually happened between you and Ella really hurt her. She can be a little short-tempered but I have never seen her go after someone the way she does with you. That can’t be healthy, you know? So, I was thinking maybe it would be a good idea if possibly you two talked about it? Please?” The last full sentence comes out incredibly quickly as a result of Stella’s nerves.

“I’ve tried that.” Kelly replies shortly.

“Not since I’ve been in the picture. And she said she’ll actually listen, as long as you do too.”

“You’re saying she agreed to this?”

Stella nods, tracing small patterns on Kelly’s shirt as they talk in hopes it will make him more susceptible.

“A conversation. With just me and Dawson?”

“Yep.” She pops the p, nervous energy flowing through her.

A few moments of silence pass, and Stella can practically hear the gears turning in her boyfriend’s head.

“Okay.”

Her finger freezes in its spot on the middle of his chest.

“You’ll do it?!” she asks excitedly.

“Yeah, it’s worth a shot.”

Stella doesn’t even try to hold back her squeal. She shifts from his side and kisses Kelly on the cheek, pulling back with a huge smile. 

“You’re the best.”

“Well I think the best deserves more than a kiss on the cheek.” He smirks at her and Stella rolls her eyes before leaning in and fulfilling his wish. She brings her hand to his neck, grinning as she feels his tongue slide past her lips. A strong arm pulls her closer, and when a quiet moan escapes into the room neither of them are surprised. Stella pulls back not long after, a feeling she can’t explain tugging at her chest. She brushes it away though, smiling widely at not only the thought of his lips on hers, but the idea that her best friend and boyfriend may actually be on good terms soon.

She sits up completely and let’s Kelly's hand find hers as she tucks her feet under her. A random conversation topic makes its way to her mouth when she notices the way Kelly is staring at her.

“What?” she questions as she shifts on the bed.

He reaches up to Stella’s face with the hand that’s not connected to hers and tucks her hair behind her ears. She grins and leans into the touch.

“Have your ears always been this big?” he asks, a mischievous grin on his face.

Stella’s eyes snap open as her jaw drops.

“You’re such a dick!”

She swats his hand from her face and scoots away.

Kelly laughs at her exaggerated reaction.

“No wait.” There’s a mile wide smile on Kelly’s face as he reaches for her. He catches her wrist, unsurprisingly, as she never intended on going far, and pulls her to him. “I love them. You’re like my little monkey.”

“I hate you,” she responds, but once again she’s melting into his touch as he moves his light grip to her waist and brings them closer together.

“They’re cute,” he confesses, staring into chocolate eyes, “Just like the rest of you.”

A group of butterflies are released in Stella’s stomach. She bites her lip before kissing him. 

“You’re lucky I like you,” she playfully warns before settling back in next to him.

“Yeah, I am.”

Kelly grins down at her and realizes that there’s not much he wouldn’t do just to see her smile.

Gabby leans forward, grabbing the remote and clicking back to the menu as the credits start to roll on the movie they were watching. She catches Matt’s eyes from across the couch where her feet are still sat in his lap as she leans back into the armrest. 

She quirks a brow, picking up a piece of popcorn and holding it out. He grins brightly, nodding slightly and a moment later she is throwing it up in the air, Matt only tilting just a little to have to catch the kernel before he starts chewing with a proud smile, Gabby holds her arms up in victory, before laughing lightly, looking around at the few kernels that laid around the basement carpet because of the game they’d been playing throughout the entire movie. 

The popcorn spread out around the room due to a few miscalculations on both their parts while throwing the buttery treat. Matt finishes chewing and swallows before starting to laugh as well as he catches her stare and takes note of the popcorn lying around. 

“Looks like we have a bit of a mess to clean up.” He comments. 

Gabby waves her arm. “I can pick it up, don’t worry about it.” 

“I don’t mind.” He tells her, turning back and meeting her eyes. Gabby nods, looking down, suddenly aware of the nearly intimate position they were in with her legs thrown across his lap. Though it provided some distance between them that she can’t help but feel grateful for, knowing that if they had spent the entire movie any closer she wouldn’t have been able to pay attention to anything. She could barely explain the plot of the movie they had just watched, but she knew if they had been snuggled any closer she would have had a hard time even remembering the main character’s name. 

Gabby looks at the clock, her eyes widening as she sees it’s nearly midnight. 

“Shit, I didn’t realize how late it was.” She comments, “Do you need to get home?” Matt can hear the hint of worry that has filled her voice, along with the fear that has settled into her eyes. He tilts his head looking at her carefully. 

He had known for a while now that his situation at home had been weighing on Gabby more and more. He had noticed it all and he had been trying to ease her worries by sidestepping the issue and not talking about it, but he is realizing the longer that goes on that trying to sidestep it isn’t helping and maybe diving in and talking about it is what they both need. 

Having Gabby to talk to these last few weeks had been amazing, and he doesn’t regret sharing that part of his life with her… but he regrets how heavily it has weighed on her. 

“Yeah, I uh… I need to get going here soon.” He answers her. 

Gabby nods her understanding, gnawing on her bottom lip as she considers her next words, feeling his eyes on her, “Is uh…. Is your Dad not home?” 

He shakes his head. “No, he isn’t.” He watches her sigh, seeing the relief that fills her as she nods. 

“That’s good.” She says softly and he squeezes her leg, pulling her eyes to him. 

“Gabby… you know you can talk to me, right?” He presses, watching her brows furrow. “About this. About the stuff with my Dad and my Mom…” Matt says, watching as she looks away again. “I know… I know letting you in about all this. What you saw… and what I have told you, I know you have to be feeling a lot of… different things about all this. And I just… I want you to know you can talk to me, you can tell me what…”

“How, Matt?” She questions vulnerably, cutting him off. When she meets his eyes again he can see the tears swimming in her brown orbs and his heart constricts. She sniffles lightly. “God, this… this isn't about me. This is about you… how can I tell you about how I am feeling when I am not the one dealing with it, you are… I…”

“It’s okay, Gabby.” He soothes softly and she is cutting him off once more. 

“It’s not, Matt. It is  _ not _ okay!” Her voice raising takes him by surprise and his heart constricts further as he watches the pain fill her face. Despite wanting her to open up to him, he wasn’t prepared for the number of emotions that would come out. “None of this is okay, Matt.” She says softer. 

“Gabby…”

“I worry about you…  _ so much _ .” She tells him, the tears that were resting in her eyes finally falling. “I worry about you constantly, and it’s not fair of me to dump that on you because you have enough going on. You shouldn’t have to worry about what I am feeling too.” She cries. “But there are days you go home after school or after hanging out here that all I can think about is what might happen to you. I am scared for you Matt… what all you told me... What he has done to you? It is not okay. It will  _ never  _ be okay.”

“I know.” He agrees softly. 

She sighs, scrubbing her hands over her tired face. “Then why don’t you do something? Why don’t you go to the police or  _ something _ Matt? Anything…” She practically begs.

Casey lets out a puff of air. “Listen, Gabby… I wish I had a better explanation other than...I’m scared. If I go to the police and try to file a report the likelihood is they will do an investigation. If they do that, and they find nothing, or even if they do find something, and it’s not enough? He could get off scot-free… the only difference is he will be even angrier and if it’s not me that pays for that it will be my mom and I can’t… I can’t do that. At the most, he will end up in jail for a short period of time and lord knows what they will do with my mom, if anything, but the likelihood that I get to stay with her is slim. I’ll end up 16 and in foster care and...” He stops, taking a deep breath. “I know it may seem more cut and dry to you… but it isn’t Gabby, and I wish it was, I do… but I have looked into it, I’ve done my research I have thought about it over and over again, and there just… there just always seems like no way out. I’d rather take my chances up against my drunk Dad who I know I can take rather than end up some number in the foster care system.” He mutters. 

Gabby listens to his words, taking them in and digesting them, and though his words slice right through her, they bring a new understanding to it all that she hadn’t previously considered. “I’m so sorry, Matt…” She says softly. 

He looks over, meeting her tired and glassy eyes and smiles softly, hoping to reassure her. He turns in his seat, angling his body to her and forcing her to move her legs. She sits up, pulling her legs into her and crossing them as he scoots closer, leaving little room between them as they face each other head-on. 

“Listen, Gabby… I didn’t tell you all of this to make you feel bad, or to pity me or… anything. I never wanted to let you into this part of my life because I never wanted you to see where and…  _ what _ … I come from.” He explains quietly. “But you… you’ve been amazing through all of this and I just want you to know that… having you to talk to and share all this with… being able to come here and spend time with you and just…  _ escape  _ it all for a while… it’s meant the world to me.”

His sincere words bring a smile to her face and she nods. “It’s meant a lot to me too, Matt… getting to be here for you. Having you trust me with this.”

“I do, trust you, more than anything... but I never want you to hold yourself back from telling me how you feel, okay? You don’t have to worry about that with me, Gabby. You aren’t burdening me for feeling what you are feeling. I get that this is a lot to take on, and I don’t blame you for feeling that weight… but please just, talk to me when you do?”

Gabby nods, smiling softly. For the first time in nearly a month, despite the rough topic, she is feeling better than she had in a long time knowing that she and Matt could talk openly, about everything. No matter how difficult. 

The bond they had always had, along with the one they had created over the past few months becoming stronger and stronger. The comfort she feels with him was something she had never felt with anyone before. 

Matt has become her closest friend and she truly feels like she can bare her soul to him, in the same ways he had to her, and he wouldn’t judge her. He will be there standing by her always. 

It all stirs those similar emotions within her. She is in love with him. She had always been in love with him, and the more he showed her this side of him, the closer she got to him, the deeper those feelings became. And while she trusts him more than she ever had anyone else before, she still is scared to death of that feeling. 

Despite all those feelings of trust and love and knowing that Matt would never judge her, she can’t stop the fear that if she really did bare her heart to him that all of this… this deep-seated friendship and connection they had created would be gone. 

“I promise.” She assures him, his own grin breaking out at her words. 

“You’re going to make me do it, aren’t you?” He questions. 

She nods enthusiastically, laughing. “You have to.” 

Shaking his head, Matt holds out his pinky, Gabby’s smaller one interlocking in his before she leans forward pressing a kiss to their interlocked fingers, Matt doing the same. Shaking his head at the ritual that Gabby had when it came to pinky promises, something that she had been doing for as long as he knew her. A pinky promise never a true promise until it was “sealed”. 

When they pull back Matt is still grinning, shaking his head at her. “You’re so lame.” He jokes and she scoffs, faking offense. 

“No lamer than you.” She throws back. 

Matt surprises her, leaning forward and pulling her in for a tight hug. His arms wrapping around her and holding her close. Her shock wears off as she relaxes into the embrace. 

“Thank you, Gabby.” He says softly, his words soft and sincere. 

She gnaws on her bottom lip, clearing the emotion from her own voice. “Anytime, Matt.” 

Ramon pulls himself away from the basement door, more emotions than he could fully comprehend coursing through his system after what all he had overheard. He hadn’t meant to listen in to their conversation, only wanting to go down and tell them it was late, and Matt needed to either head home, or set up camp on the couch while Gabby went to bed. The oldest Dawson not willing to have a repeat of the sleepover that had previously happened. 

What he hadn’t expected was to overhear the very emotional conversation between his daughter and the blond boy that had become such a permanent fixture in her life. One that he was realizing very quickly, even more so after what he had heard, wasn’t going anywhere anytime soon. 

Rage courses through Ramon as Matt Casey’s words played on a loop over and over in his head. That rage only continuing to burn hot as his own daughter’s emotions and fears played through his mind. 

If he was thinking clearly, he would have stopped himself before grabbing his phone. If he was thinking clearly he would have taken a breath and told himself to calm down. He would have told himself to sleep on it. To maybe even go upstairs and discuss what he was about to do with his wife… but he wasn’t thinking clearly. The anger he felt bubbling over. The deep-seated need to protect his baby girl, and the boy that had so clearly stolen her heart and didn’t deserve what was happening to him. 

He doesn’t care for the time of night as he pulls out his cell phone and dials a number he knows by heart. 

“Dad? What’s going on? Is everyone okay?” Antonio’s tired voice filters through the phone in a rush. 

Ramon takes a deep breath. “Everything is fine Antonio, but I need you to do something for me.” 

“Anything, what’s going on?” Ramon can hear the confusion in his son’s voice but knows there is time to explain later. 

“Do you still have those connections at the sheriff’s departments from your ride alongs?” He asks, getting confirmation from the younger Dawson. “Good… I need you to look someone up for me.” 

After getting the information from his father Antonio takes a quick breath, recognizing the last name… but not the first, the cogs turning in his tired mind. 

“What are you gonna do, Dad?” 

Ramon takes a steadying breath, his mind still racing. 

“Don’t you worry son, I’m just going to have a talk with him.”

  
  



	12. chapter twelve

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Gabby was trying to abide by Stella’s request. She wanted this to work, she didn’t want to make her friend uncomfortable, but there was no one that got under her skin quite like Kelly Severide did and that wasn’t something that would go away just because he started dating her best friend. 
> 
> She knows his comment was likely not meant to be dig, she knows he was talking to Stella, not her and Matt, and she knows she shouldn’t let him get to her as much as she does… but there is a layer of hurt there that she doesn’t know will ever fully go away, no matter how much she tries to push it away. He had been one of her best friends, she had trusted him, and he hurt her. There was one thing Gabby Dawson valued over anything else and it was loyalty… and Kelly had betrayed that. 
> 
> or
> 
> finally! the full story of how gabby and kelly lost their friendship. as well as stella meeting the parents.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hi! update day!! this one was fun to write for both shelby and i, as we’ve been anxiously awaiting telling you guys what really happened with gabby and kelly. plus i loved starting off stella and jennifer’s relationship. as always, this same fic will be posted on FF under shelby's username @/peytfan4ever. thanks so much for reading <3 (my twitter is @/annasrae and shelby's is @/shelbersmarie_ if anyone wants to reach out!)

“Stella, this is like the 9th game you have cheered at… when are we going to stop with the nerves every Friday?” Gabby huffed, her brow raised challengingly as she stopped unloading the books from her bag into her locker to turn to her friend. 

Stella stops the ramble she had been on about the tightness of her cheer skirt and that one cheer she could never quite memorize and sends her friend a tight glare. “Okay. First of all… rude. And secondly, probably never.” She concedes. 

Gabby scoffs, biting back a smirk as she looks back to her locker, placing her last book on the shelf before hanging her bag up on the hook. She looked in the mirror attached to her locker, smoothing the hair back into her ponytail and fixing the bow that sat at the base of her ponytail. 

“Well, at least you are staying consistent, El.” She teases lightly and it’s Stella’s turn to scoff, a pout appearing on her lips that has Gabby rolling her eyes. 

“Uh oh, Is Dawson picking on you again?” Stella’s eyes light up as her boyfriend approaches, a smirk on his lips as he takes in the scene and her pouted lips that were soon turning into a smile. Gabby shakes her head, fighting back her second eye roll in less than thirty seconds as Severide gets closer, wrapping an arm around Stella and pressing a kiss to the side of her head. 

A presence beside her has her turning her head, her own eyes lighting up when she finds blue eyes staring back at her and is quick to return Matt’s bright smile. 

“Hey.” She says softly, turning her attention from the couple beside her as she takes him in. 

“Hey Gabs.” 

“Ready for the game tonight?” She questions, her eyes wandering down his form and taking in the way his biceps bulged as he crossed his arms over his chest, the material of his football jersey straining at the action. She forces her eyes back to his as he starts talking. 

“Yeah, we’re going to kick the Bulldogs asses.” He comments smugly, Gabby laughing lightly as she takes in his words. Football is one of the few things that left Matt feeling happy and carefree. The quarterback knowing he is not only damn good at the sport but also enjoys it more than just about anything else. 

“Hell yeah, we are.” She hears Kelly agree from behind her, forcing herself to bite down any comment on his insertion into their conversation. Casey offers a grin over the top of her head to his friend and she keeps her focus on him as his eyes turn back to her. 

“So, uh…” Her voice trails off as she tries to work up the courage for her next words. “My parents were wondering if you’d want to come over for dinner sometime soon.” She says softly, Casey’s brows raising in surprise at her words. His reaction already has her backpedaling. “They just mentioned it, since you’ve been over so much, and I mean… I know it’s weird. I told them it wasn’t a good idea, so it’s fine I can tell them no if you don’t want to, it’s really…” 

“I’d love to.” Casey cuts her off, biting back a smile at her rambling. Her eyes that were previously avoiding his as she rambled on snapping back up. 

A hesitant smile pulls at her lips, “You sure?” 

He nods, his own smile growing, “Of course. Just let me know when and I am there.” He answers, putting her at ease, the tension leaving and she smiles back, offering him a shy nod before she is shifting on her feet, tucking the hair that had fallen forward behind her ear. 

“Casey’s meeting the parents.” She hears Kelly say lightly, “I guess that means it’s about time I do too.” She rolls her eyes, whipping around and ready to make a comment, Stella’s stern eyes already on her while Shay and April are standing there waiting, Gabby unsure of when they walked up, but she can tell Shay is clearly anticipating whatever it is she is about to say, but she bites her tongue. Holding in her comment as she looks at her best friend still tucked into Severide’s side and sending her a pleading look. 

She sighs, settling on a glare sent his way before looking back into her locker, shuffling around the books and avoiding the conversation happening around her as her friends all speak. 

Gabby was trying to abide by Stella’s request. She wanted this to work, she didn’t want to make her friend uncomfortable, but there was no one that got under her skin quite like Kelly Severide did and that wasn’t something that would go away just because he started dating her best friend. 

She knows his comment was likely not meant to be dig, she knows he was talking to Stella, not her and Matt, and she knows she shouldn’t let him get to her as much as she does… but there is a layer of hurt there that she doesn’t know will ever fully go away, no matter how much she tries to push it away. He had been one of her best friends, she had trusted him, and he hurt her. There was one thing Gabby Dawson valued over anything else and it was loyalty… and Kelly had betrayed that. 

“Gabby?”

“Dawson!” 

Her eyes snap up, her head turning quickly at the sound of her name… only to smack sharply into the side of her locker, a hiss of pain leaving her immediately as her hand flies up to the side of her head. 

“Ella, are you alright?” Stella’s concerned voice is the first thing she registers as the blinding pain surges through her, accompanied by the soothing hand running up and down her back that she knows just by the touch belongs to the blond man beside her. 

She groans in pain, holding the spot for a moment longer as her head starts to pound already. Matt’s soothing voice next to her has her turning slightly into him. “Hey, let me see.” She carefully pulls her hand away, the pounding in her temple only intensifying as she forces her eye open, the light already feeling blinding. The wince on Casey’s face lets her know it already doesn’t look pretty. 

“Damn Dawson, you about gave yourself a shiner.” Kelly elaborates softly, his eyes wide. 

Gabby grits her teeth, his voice alone enough to annoy her in her already tense state and her previous restraint is being thrown out the window. “Shut up, Kelly.” She mutters out, seeing him raise his hands up in surrender. 

“Jesus, sorry. I was just saying, maybe you should go to the nurse.” 

“Well don’t just say.” She bites out. 

“Gabby…” Stella’s voice filters through, trying to calm the situation. 

“Don’t look at me, El. Tell your boyfriend to just keep his mouth shut.” 

Matt sighs, resting a hand on her back once more and feeling her relax slightly. 

“Ella, he didn’t mean anything by it…” She pushes lightly. 

Casey can see Gabby ready to fight back further, her already irritated state from the pain in her head leaving her on edge and he jumps in, slowly pushing her locker shut and guiding her with his hand on her back. 

“Come on, Gabs.” He says softly, Her hand not moving from her head as she looks up to him, her hard eyes softening. “Lets go get you an ice pack before English.” She nods, clearly ready to get away from this conversation as well and letting Matt lead her down the hall. 

Kelly huffs out a frustrated breath as he watches them go, shaking his head before his eyes meet his girlfriends, an unimpressed look resting on her face. 

“What?” He asks incredulously. “You said it yourself I didn’t do anything, she just bit my head off.” He argues, walking off in the opposite direction towards their class. 

Stella shakes her head, going to follow after him but a hand on her arm stops her, her eyes finding Shay’s. She raises a brow in question. Stella doesn't miss the look that passes between Shay and April before the latter is pressing a kiss to the blonde's cheek and moving away down the hall. 

Shay drops her hand from Stella’s arm. “What’s up Shay?” She asks carefully, unsure of what could be coming. 

The blonde shifts on her feet, the nervous demeanor not one Stella has ever seen from Leslie before, her interest only further peaked. 

“I uh… I just wanted to say thank you, actually.” She starts. Stella’s eyebrows furrowed in confusion, but before she can ask Leslie is continuing on. The other day at lunch, with Dawson and Severide. You stood up for him… and you said some things that really hit me.”

Stella swallows thickly, “I’m sorry, Leslie. I never meant to come across rude or anything like that. I…” She is immediately apologizing, but Shay is quick to cut her off. 

“No, don’t apologize. I’m happy you did.” Stella is no less confused, but a small smile pulls at her lips at her words. “This thing with the two of them, it’s never been easy, and I will admit maybe I haven’t always handled it right, but it makes me happy knowing Kelly has you.” Stella’s smile grows, heat flooding her cheeks as she looks down. 

Shay laughs lightly at her reaction. “You make him really happy, Stella… and what you did, what you said, it just made me realize how much you care about him…” She says sincerely, “...especially since you were willing to go up against a famous Gabby Dawson glare to make your point.” She jokes, easing the heaviness of the conversation. 

Stella laughs, shaking her head. “Thank you, Leslie. That means a lot… and I do care about him, so much.” 

“I know,” Shay says brightly, the two of them sharing one more smile before they head their separate ways as the first bell rings. 

Kelly slams his gym locker open, catching his friend’s attention and having the blond man raising a brow in interest. Matt watches him as he shuffles around in his locker, moving things haphazardly in his clearly aggravated state. 

Casey waits a few moments longer, watching as he sighs, running a hand over his sweaty brow, the game they had just finished, barely getting by with the win, getting the better of his running back. That coupled with whatever was clearly bothering the brunette football player leaving him slamming his things around in frustration. 

Matt crosses his arms over his chest, resting against the lockers with a growing smirk on his face as he watches Severide become more and more frustrated. It’s not until they are the only two left in the locker room, the rest of the team has finished and moved out that he is speaking up, ready to get to the bottom of whatever has his friend so upset. 

“You gonna keep throwing your shit around like a toddler, or you want to talk about whatever has you pissed off enough that you missed two touchdowns during the fourth quarter? Two  _ perfectly thrown _ touchdowns, I might add.” 

Kelly rolls his eyes, with a scoff, “Fuck off man.” He mutters, refusing to meet his eyes as he reaches for his change of clothes. 

Casey shakes his head, his smirk fading, but holds his hands up in surrender before turning around. “I’ll take the hint.” He mutters, moving back to his own locker and pulling his bag out before slamming it shut. He turns to head towards the door, and it’s then the voice behind him is stopping him. 

“It’s Dawson.” Kelly finally huffs out. 

Casey’s brows furrow in further confusion, turning around slowly to face his friend. His confusion played out across his face has Kelly shifting on his feet, looking back into his locker and away from his stare. 

“All this… she just…” He stutters out, trying to settle on the right words. “...she just really knows how to get under my skin.” He finally settles on. 

Matt nods slowly, “Well, the feeling is mutual for you two there.” 

Kelly rolls his eyes, “Yeah, you don’t say?” His clearly sarcastic tone is not missed by the blond man. 

A beat of silence passes between them, Casey unsure what to say, knowing he was already in uncharted territory, the two of them never spent much time talking about the short brunette. Both of them cautious of what to say when it came to Dawson. Casey not wanting to make what happened between them his business any further than it was, and Kelly well aware of his best friend’s feelings towards the girl they both used to be so close to. 

“She just can never let anything go, you know? She’s always been on my ass since that stuff went down freshman year and I’ve always dealt with it, but now with Stella…” He trails off, and Matt looks at him curiously, waiting for him to continue. “She wants me to make things right with Gabby.” He explains finally. 

Matt’s eyes widen, though he is only mildly surprised. He should have seen it coming that Stella would want things right between her boyfriend and best friend. It wasn’t a huge ask, honestly… but Stella also hadn’t been around the past few years to know how deep-rooted this hostility between the two firecrackers of their friend group went. 

Honestly, Matt wasn’t aware of just how much Stella knew of the two’s feud, but he had a feeling it wasn’t all that much just from the little that Gabby had let on. Her words from the other day still in his mind. “ _ Shay and Stella… they don’t really know everything…” _

Casey’s silence only has Kelly continuing on. “I told Stella I would, but I mean you’ve seen Gabby. That girl takes any opportunity to come at me. She is never going to sit down and talk to me, let alone forgive me.”

“I mean, can you blame her? You really hurt her, Kelly.” He finds himself saying, defending Gabby coming as second nature. 

Kelly looks at him unimpressed. “I get it, you like her, Casey. But she isn’t here, you don’t have to defend her.” He bites out, his frustration at the entire situation hitting its head. 

Matt shakes his head, his brows knitting. “That’s not what this is about, Kelly. I’d say this to you whether she was here or not. You hurt her, a lot, that isn’t something that just goes away.”

“What the hell do you know about it anyway?” He argues, looking away. 

Casey’s own frustration peaks, the words flying from his mouth before he can think to stop them. “I know a lot more than you think, Severide. I was there. I was the one who had to comfort Gabby that night and wipe her tears after it all went down.”

Kelly’s stare snaps back to his, Casey running a hand over the back of his neck as he realizes his words. Words he hadn’t shared with anyone in the past two years. That night being kept between only he and Gabby. 

Severide’s anger and frustration falter at his words. “What, what do you mean you were the one that comforted her?” 

Matt sighs, already regretting sharing the information he had kept for so long, but it’s out there, and he knows he may as well commit to it. Running a frustrated hand through his hair he takes a seat on one of the benches. 

“The night of the party, I had just gotten there. I was coming in when I ran into Gabby…”

“You always said you never showed,” Severide interjects, confusion on his face. 

Matt sends him a glare for the interruption, but nods. “I did. I showed up and ran into Gabby before I could even make it through the front door. After seeing how upset she was I went after her. I took care of her, gave her a ride home and I never ended up coming back to the party.” He explains. “It was just easier to say I had never been there than to explain it all and besides, Gabby asked me to keep it between us.” He sighs out, realizing once again he is breaking that promise. 

Kelly nods, resting against the lockers as he listens to his friend’s words, words that were all new to him. After another beat of silence, his brows knit together further. “What do you mean you saw how upset she was?” He questions almost hesitantly, Matt’s sad blue eyes looking up to meet his. “She was pissed at me.”

Matt shakes his head, “I mean yeah, she is now, Kelly… but that wasn’t the case back then. She wasn’t mad, she was hurt.” Kelly swallows thickly, his words washing over him and having a heavy feeling settling into his chest. “...you and I both know Gabby puts up a tough front, she always has, but she isn’t made of steel, Kel. You two may not have been as close at that time as you once were, but she still considered you to be one of her closest friends. You hurt her, you broke her trust, and you embarrassed her. She may have turned all that hurt into anger, but trust me, she wasn’t just angry that night.” He says softly, his mind flooding with a nearly distraught Dawson as she ran from the Halstead house, doing everything she could to hold back the tears that were already starting to fall. 

Kelly sits down on the bench with a huff, the heavy feeling resting in his chest feeling nearly unbearable as he takes in the new information. “Damn.” He breathes out through his teeth, the air around them tense. 

Matt nods, “I didn’t tell you all that to make you feel bad, man… but you had to have known she was hurt?” 

Kelly runs his hand over the back of his neck. “Maybe on some level, I did… but anytime I saw her or talked to her, she was just pissed and I guess I never thought much beyond that. I knew I had messed up the minute I said that shit about her, I just… I fucked up.” He admits, not for the first time. 

“Yeah.” Casey says simply, already knowing this was something Kelly had realized a long time ago. The only difference now was he was aware of just how badly he had hurt Gabby. 

A long beat of silence passes between them before Kelly is looking at him cautiously, “She cried?” 

Matt winces but nods his confirmation. The motion only furthering his friend’s guilt as he groans, scrubbing his hands over his face. Casey clasps his hand on his shoulder, squeezing comfortingly before he is getting up from the bench and throwing his bag over his shoulder once more. 

Kelly makes no move, only lifting his head to look up, a lost look falling over his face, “How do I…” He sighs, “...how do I fix this with her?” He asks cautiously. 

Casey shrugs, giving him a sympathetic look. “Honestly, Kelly? I really don’t know.” He tells him. “I’d like to think I know Gabby better than most, but when it comes to this?” He blows out a breath of air. “All I know is, she may hide behind a lot of anger where you are concerned, but the truth is there is a lot more hurt there than there is anger.” 

Kelly nods, his words doing nothing to relieve the already thousand-ton weight that felt like it rested on his shoulders. 

“Listen, Kelly, at one point in time you were closer with her than Shay and I both were… just because she is hurt doesn’t mean she has forgotten that. Just talk to her man. It’s all you can do.”

“Thanks, Case.” He says softly, offering him a weak smile. 

Matt offers one back, clapping him on the shoulder once more as he turns to head for the door. “And please, take care of it before the next game because if I have to throw another beautifully arced touchdown straight to you, only to have you miss it, I swear I will be talking to Coach about finally putting Mills in your spot instead.” He jokes. 

Kelly scoffs, throwing the water bottle rested on the floor at him, “Get outta here.” 

Casey laughs, dodging the bottle and heading for the door, leaving his friend sitting there with his mind racing. His anger from before long gone and replaced with a feeling of guilt he wasn’t sure he would ever fully be able to get rid of. 

Stella smooths invisible wrinkles out of her teal blouse as she waits for the door to open. She’d rung the doorbell seconds ago but it feels like a lifetime. Her mind moves a mile a minute in anticipation. Finally, the door opens.

The woman behind it is younger than Stella had expected, and her curly chestnut hair frames a wide, perfect smile. 

Stella swallows before speaking, determined to face her fear and talk first.

“Mrs. Severide! Hi, I’m Stella.” She outstretches her hand.

The older woman raises her eyebrows at the hand, but shakes it, her smile unwavering.

“It’s Sheridan, actually. But please call me Jennifer. And I know who you are, Stella. Come in!” She opens the door wider and beckons Stella inside.

A wave of guilt passes over Stella at her idiotic mistake. She’d known about Kelly’s parent’s divorce but hadn’t even thought about his mother’s last name change. Mumbling a thank you, she heads inside.

Obviously this isn’t her first time in the home, but it may very well be the first time Jennifer’s been aware of it. Not to mention most of the time was spent in Kelly’s room. Everything is tidy, yet the entire house feels lived in. It’s cozy and warm and Stella immediately feels her nerves calm slightly.

“Your home is beautiful, Ms. Sheridan,” she comments genuinely.

“Thank you, but I really do want you to call me Jennifer. Ms. Sheridan makes me feel old.” She scrunches her nose up at the final word, making Stella chuckle.

“Will do, Jennifer.” It feels a bit odd, but Stella goes with it.

“Kelly will be down in a minute. I told him if he didn’t finish his homework before dinner time I’d send you back home.” 

They make their way to the kitchen table as she speaks, and Stella senses her tone with a grin.

“You wouldn’t,” she jokes back.

“No, of course not-“

The sound of heavy footsteps on the stairs fills the room right as the two of them sit down.

“-but as you can see, it worked.” She throws a wink at Stella and calls out to Kelly.

“Hi monkey!” Kelly says excitedly at the sight of his girlfriend. Clearly he hadn’t heard her come in. 

Stella’s cheeks glow red at his use of the nickname.

“So that one stuck, huh?” she asks as she gets up from the chair and hugs him, hesitant to show anymore affection.

“Of course.”

He pulls her chair out before sitting on his own. 

When Stella looks back at Jennifer, there’s a look in her eye she can’t quite place. It disappears quickly though, and she’s speaking.

“So I grilled Kelly to see if you had any dietary restrictions and he said there was nothing…” she trails off and gestures to the spread in front of them.

There’s a huge bowl of shrimp alfredo and along with a platter of baked chicken and assorted vegetables. Everything looks absolutely delicious, and she wants nothing more than to dig in.

“Unless you planned on cooking bees I think we’re good.” 

“You’re allergic to bees?” Kelly asks curiously.

“Yup. I got stung when I was seven and nearly died. Ever since then my parents have forced me to carry an EpiPen wherever I go.” She pulls the device out of her back pocket and shows it off.

“So that’s what’s always in your pocket…” he mumbles to himself.

Stella squints and looks over to see if his mother heard him. If she had, there’s no way to tell as she’d just finished setting out tongs for the chicken. Which is definitely fortunate because she’s 99% sure the only reason Kelly noticed she kept something in her jeans was because of how much time his hands spent there.

“Everything looks amazing, Jennifer.”

She smiles in gratitude. Stella reaches for the large spoon in the alfredo bowl with excitement.

“Stella.” Kelly’s hand is on her arm before she can retrieve any of the food.

“Yeah?” she responds, confused.

“We usually say grace before we eat, honey. I hope that’s not an issue?” Jennifer explains.

Stella snaps her hand back as her heart races. She’d fucked up, again.

“Yeah, of course! I’m so sorry my, uh, my family isn’t really religious so I didn’t even consider- That’s totally my bad. Sorry,” she rambles.

“Don’t worry about it,” Jennifer replies with ease. She sounds so light and genuine it’s almost enough to set Stella’s nervousness aside. Almost.

Kelly and his mother reach out their hands, Stella taking one of each. She recognizes their words immediately and considers for a moment before joining in. 

“-By his hands we all are fed. Give us Lord our daily bread. Amen, thank you, Jesus.”

All hands release except for Kelly’s on hers, and Stella finds herself humming softly when he strokes the top of her hand with his thumb. She’s sure he knows how anxious she is at this point. And his touch does exactly what it's meant to as she tries to return her breathing to normal.

“I thought your parents weren’t religious?” Jennifer questions innocently as she makes her plate.

“Well, my dad isn’t. But when I was a kid and my mom was around more we’d go to her church like twice a week. So I picked up on a few things.” Stella hopes she doesn’t offend either of them with her words.

“Ah, I see. Kelly and I don’t always make it to church. It’s more of a personal experience for us. But I grew up immersed in it, much like your mother I presume?”

“Yeah, I guess so. But that’s pretty much where the similarities stop.” She’d meant it as a joke but her tone is a little too serious. Stella finishes forking food onto her plate and takes a bite in order to delay her response.

“What do you mean?” It’s Kelly asking this time, and she releases his hand as a silent punishment for pushing the subject. He furrows his eyebrows.

“Nothing really. Jennifer just seems a lot more...present than my mother is. She has to travel a lot for work.” Stella cuts herself short before oversharing to the woman she’d just met.

“Well, it must be a highly demanding job if it keeps her away from you,” Jennifer comments with her signature warm smile. Stella’s heart feels as though it grew three sizes.

“That’s very kind of you.”

The rest of the dinner goes quite smoothly, much to Stella’s pleasure. She gets along with Kelly’s mother incredibly well. They bond over a shared love for seafood, cliché romantic comedies, and hilarious stories about Kelly.

“So I walk out of the bathroom and my three-year-old son is covered head to toe in grape jelly he’d gotten from the kitchen counter.”

Both women are bent over in laughter at this point, and Kelly watches them torn between the embarrassment of his childhood and joy that two of his best girls are getting along.

“In my defense, I was trying to make a sandwich,” he adds.

“On your body?” his girlfriend questions between laughs.

“Oh shut up.” He lightly punches her on the arm, resulting in her turning to Jennifer with an open mouth.

“Kelly, leave her be.” She swats at her son. “I honestly don’t know how you put up with him.” She turns her gaze toward Stella.

“Eh, it’s all about the looks for me.” 

“Gotcha. Arm candy is important,” Jennifer replies.

“That’s what I keep telling him!” 

They erupt into laughter again, with Kelly shaking his head but soon joining in.

The night ends far too soon. After adamantly refusing Stella’s offer to help wash the dishes, which was really just an excuse to stay longer, Jennifer is walking her to the door. 

“Bye Kelly,” Stella offers over her shoulder.

“Really? That’s all I get?” He scoffs playfully, leaning against the wall of the living room.

“Thank you for introducing me to your amazing mother?” she says, walking back to kiss him on the cheek. He grins.

“Close enough. Text me when you’re home safe, yeah?” He grabs her chin lightly and pecks her on the lips. 

Yet again, a blush spreads on her cheeks.

“Yeah.” She can’t seem to wipe the smile off of her face as she heads back toward the door.

“Can I talk to you, Stella?” Jennifer asks. When she nods nervously, Jennifer closes the front door behind them, leaving them standing on the porch. 

“Everything alright?” Stella thought the night went very well, but maybe it was more one-sided than she’d realized.

“Don’t sound so nervous, honey. Everything’s great. I’m very glad I got to meet you and see what all the fuss was about.” The corner of Jennifer’s eyes crinkle when she smiles genuinely, just like Kelly’s. And for the first time that night Stella can feel the similarity between her boyfriend and his mother. It’s not really physical, and she’s left to assume Kelly looks like his father. It’s a warmth, a sense of comfort that she’s always found in him that she now knows comes from Jennifer. She’d raised him well.

“All the fuss?” she asks quietly, meeting the woman’s soft brown eyes.

“He’s been talking about you for weeks. Ever since the school incident, you’ve practically been the only topic of discussion,” she offers nonchalantly.

“Wow. Sorry about that by the way.” She forces a laugh to hide the buzzing feeling in her chest at the thought that she’s on Kelly’s mind even when she’s not around.

“No worries. I think we both know Kelly often leads with his heart more than his head. As a matter of fact, if you ever need anything Stella, anything at all, I’m here.” She hands a small piece of paper with her phone number on it to the younger girl.

“Thank you. That means a lot.” Stella gratefully accepts. “And thank you for dinner. It really was delicious.”

“My pleasure. Have a nice night, Stella.” She turns to go back inside.

“You too!” she replies, making her way down the steps. Then she stops, feeling just comfortable enough with Jennifer to voice what’s on her mind. As amazing as everything had been, she just can’t stop questioning whether or not this is a common occurrence for them.

“Jennifer?”

The woman turns around, eyebrows raised.

“Do you like all the girl’s Kelly brings home?”

“I wouldn’t know. You’re the first one.” She smiles once more and goes back inside.

Stella practically skips to her car, feeling lighter and warmer than she ever has before.

Gabby throws her head back in laughter, Casey watching her with a bright smile on his face, his heart swelling at the sight… even if it was at his own expense. 

“I can’t believe you never told me that.” She tells him, still fighting through her own laughter at the story he had just shared of a rather embarrassing moment in middle school. 

“Well, it’s definitely not one I go around sharing often.” He tells her, watching as she recrosses her legs where she sat across from him at the head of her bed while he rested on his side with his elbow propping his head up at the end of her bed. 

Gabby smirks, bitting down on her bottom lip to keep in any further laughter. “Why not? I am sure it would be a great conversation over the lunch table tomorrow.” She teases, Matt’s eyes going wide.

“You wouldn’t dare.” He challenges, that teasing gleam in her eye never leaving. 

She opens her mouth to respond, but a knock on her open-door frame pulls their attention. Gabby’s eye’s going wide pulling Matt’s attention enough for him to realize it was not just one of her parents or Stella, he turns around cautiously, his own eyes widening when he takes in who is here. 

Kelly holds up his hand in a partial wave. “Hey, sorry to interrupt. Your Mom said you two were up here,” he explains. 

“Hey, Sev, what’s up?” Casey asks, confused, his eyes briefly glancing back to find Gabby looking curiously at the brunette man, her eyes still slanted in a slight glare. 

“I uh, I actually came to see Dawson.” He tells him, his eyes shooting behind him to meet the brunettes, Gabby’s eyes widen again, as she meets his stare. 

“What?” 

Kelly shifts nervously on his feet. “I was hoping we could talk?” 

Silence fills the room, Gabby clearly weighing her options to say no. Casey pushes himself up from the end of her bed, slipping his bag over her shoulder before meeting Gabby’s eyes. 

“I’m gonna head out. I’ll see you tomorrow, Gabs.” 

She nods, her first smile since Severide arrived in her doorway spreading over her face as she nods. “Bye Matt.” 

The blond turns, clasping his friend on the shoulder as he reaches the doorway, giving him an approving nod before heading out of the house and down the stairs.

Kelly shifts nervously once again, unsure of where to even start this, but Gabby pushing herself up from her bed and pulling a sweater from her closet has him watching her curiously. She slips into a pair of converse and silently nods her head before moving past him and heading down the stairs. Kelly follows her silently through the house, recognizing the familiar surroundings even if it had been years since he hung out in the Dawson’s home. 

He follows Gabby through the french doors leading to her backyard stepping out onto the back porch as Gabby pushes the door closed. His eyes widen when he lays eyes on what can only be described as a small park playset tucked into the back corner of her yard. Memories flooding his system as he takes it in. 

He laughs lightly, “You still have that?” 

Gabby’s eyes follow his line of sight and despite herself, she can’t help but smile as she nods. “Yeah, my mom couldn’t bring herself to get rid of it.” She says, “I think she is still hopeful Antonio will be giving her grandkids soon enough and she will still have an excuse to keep it.”

Severide laughs lightly, nodding at her words before heading down the steps of the porch, turning back to find Gabby watching him curiously, he nods his head in the direction of the swing set, “Come on.” He tells her, turning and heading off across the yard.

Gabby shakes her head but is soon following after him. The two of them settling down next to each other on their two separate swings. Gabby swings herself lightly, using her foot to push herself back and forth slowly. A heavy silence falling between the two former friends. The silence a vast difference from all the other times the two had spent on these swings in the past, giggling like the school children they once were. 

After nearly five minutes of silence Severide finds his voice, “I uh… I know this is long overdue.” He starts slowly, “I should have been here two years ago, and I’m sorry I wasn’t.” 

Gabby nods lightly, “Yeah, well, I am not entirely sure I would have even let you through the front door then.” She says honestly, the dirt she was kicking under her feet becoming increasingly interesting as she avoids his stare. 

“That’s fair… I know I fucked up, Gabs. I’ve known that since the words left my mouth, and I am truly sorry for what I said. I was out of line, and I can’t blame you for how you reacted to it all. I just…”

  
  


“You were my best friend, Kelly.” Gabby interrupts, her vulnerable stare meeting his and having him swallow thickly, feeling a heaviness settle into his chest. Gabby shakes her head, tucking her hair behind her ear and looking down once more. “We may not have been as close since freshman year started, we both got distracted with everything going on in high school… but you were still my best friend. Even at that time, I was still closer to you than I was Shay or Casey…”

Kelly nods slightly, feeling that same guilt creep further up in his throat. He knew her words were true. While they hadn’t hung out much at all after the school year started, they had still spent their childhoods, through middle school and into the summer after middle school together. It wasn’t until after their fall out that the two of them got even closer to Shay and Casey. The four always had been friends, but Dawson and Severide had been the center of that group… until they weren’t. Until lines were drawn in the sand and they were sworn enemies, Shay and Casey doing what they could to keep the group together, but eventually ending up with their respective friend, even if they didn’t “choose sides”. 

“I know, Gabby.” 

“So why? Why would you say that stuff about me?” She urges the emotions in her voice letting him know that Casey had been right when they spoke the other day. For as much as Gabby put up an angry front about it all, the hurt and betrayal she felt ran deep. 

_ The music blasted through the speakers at the Halstead house. The Saturday night party put on by Will Halstead something that had become a normal occurrence since the school year started two months ago. _

_ Kelly laughs at a joke one of the guys tell, taking a sip from his cup of beer as he stands around with the rest of the football players. While freshmen weren’t normally invited to parties, all varsity football players and cheerleaders were, Kelly quickly becoming friends with Jay during football camp this summer leaving him with an in even if he hadn’t been on the varsity team.  _

_ “Where is your girl at, little bro?” Will asks the conversation pulling Severide’s attention as he watches Jay shrug.  _

_ “Who knows.” He says simply, Severide raising a brow at him for his flippant response. Will laughs though, clearly entertained.  _

_ “Trouble in paradise?” Severide finally asks.  _

_ Jay shrugs, taking a long pull of his beer. “When isn’t there with her?” He answers, Severide only shaking his head as he holds his hands up in surrender, not wanting to step any further into that conversation. Will, on the other hand, clasps his brother on the shoulder, laughing heartily, the redhead already happily drunk.  _

_ “I swear Sev, ya gotta get Jay here a new girl. Dawson and him are constantly fighting. Poor boy, too bad she is easy because if he wasn’t getting laid he’d see it.” _

_ Kelly’s eyes widen at his words, Jay and Will going back and forth on the topic while he shifts uncomfortably on his feet, taking another long drink of his beer in hopes to stay out of the current conversation.  _

_ “...come on, Kelly’s gotta know.” he practically gulps as his name is mentioned, tuning back into the conversation and finding two awaiting pairs of eyes on him, by now the rest of the group of football players around him are also looking expectantly.  _

_ At his silence Will continues, “Dawson, you were always friends with her, what was she like back then?”  _

_ Kelly shrugs, his eyebrows furrowing, “What do you mean?”  _

_ Will rolls his eyes, “Oh come on, I’ve heard her with Jay, you can’t tell me that just started this year. She’s always been easy right?” He looks Kelly up and down, smirking. “Did you ever get with her?” _

_ He feels like the air was taking from his lungs as he strutters. “W-what? Me and Dawson? No, we…” Expectant eyes looking back at him have words flying out of his mouth before he can stop them. “We didn’t hook up, but we made out a few times.” He says, his eyes widening at his own words before he forces himself to play it off.  _

_ The guys around him continuing to make comments and he laughs along, joining in. “Yeah, I mean, like you said, she is easy, was always throwing herself at me. I couldn’t help it.” The group around him laughs, Will clapping him on the shoulder. Kelly feeling on a high from the attention he was getting, the lie he started continuing to flow without a thought. “Why do you think we aren’t close anymore? Got tired of having to pull her off me.” He jokes, earning further laughs.  _

_ Kelly laughs with him, taking a sip of his beer, and it’s then his eyes lock with brown ones over the rim of his glass. The rest of the group still joking and laughing, oblivious to the eyes on them all. Kelly swallows thickly, pulling his glass down and seeing a million emotions filling Gabby’s face as she watches him, clearly overhearing his words. How much of them, he was unsure. But by the look on her face, it was more than enough. Before he can make a move she is sending him a harsh glare before she is whipping around, pushing past people, and fleeing from the party.  _

_ Kelly already aware, there was no going back from this. _

“I know no matter what I say Gabby it will never make up for it, and to be honest, I have no excuse for it. I was an asshole. I told a lie because I was trying to be cool and impress the guys. It was stupid, and one of the biggest mistakes I ever made.” He tells her honestly. 

Gabby nods, unsure what to say at this point as she keeps her eyes on the pattern she was drawing in the dirt with her foot. Kelly sighs as he watches her, going into this he knew it wasn’t going to be easy. He knew how badly he hurt her, and he also knew just because he apologized properly that didn’t mean Gabby was obligated to forgive him, even though he hoped she would. 

“Listen, I am well aware of how badly I fucked up. I can say I am sorry a thousand times and it still won’t be enough. I should have never lied, I should have never said that shit about you Gabby. Hell, I should have been defending you, not stirring the pot further. I am sorry, Gabs. I really am. I’m sorry I hurt you, I’m sorry I ruined our friendship.” He tells her sincerely, Gabby finally looking over to him as he continues. “I just… I tried to talk to you after and you wouldn’t hear me out and I-”

“Do you really blame me, Kelly?” She asks, her words holding an edge to them as she looks at him incredulously. 

He sighs, shaking his head, “No, I don’t…” He stops, before finally letting himself say the thoughts that had been nagging at him for a long time now. “I don’t blame you, Gabby, for any of it. I know this whole situation is on me… but if I am being honest here… You not hearing me out, you never wanting to talk to me, you immediately pushing me away and never letting up, it hurt,” Gabby goes to interject again, but it’s his next words that have her mouth slamming closed. “Especially when Jay was no saint during all of that, and you had no issues with him after, and trust me, I am not excusing what I did, I am not… but you so easily forgave Jay and let him in, hell, you dated him another two years after it all, but you could barely look in my direction without hurling an insult.” 

Gabby sighs, scrubbing her hands over her face as she takes in his words, words she had never even considered till now and tries to form a coherent thought about it all. “That’s fair…” She mutters, understanding where he was coming from. “I’m sorry that it came across that way, but you have to understand Kelly, the difference between you and Jay was I never expected any better from him, and I know that is stupid and sad and pathetic. He was my boyfriend, but I knew he was an ass. I knew Will was an ass too. I’m an idiot for staying with him as long as I did, but I guess he was easy to forgive because I expected nothing less.” She explains, Severide nodding along as he watched her, hanging on every word. This one of the longest and most honest conversations they’d had in a long time. “...but you, Kelly? I expected a hell of a lot more from you. I never in a million years would have thought that you of all people would betray me like that. Would spread a lie so callously and then laugh about it afterward and make me the butt of your joke. I’m sorry that you were hurt by me forgiving Jay, but Kelly you hurt me so much more than he ever could have because I thought our friendship meant more to you than that.” 

Her vulnerable words hang in the silent air as they sit side by side on the swings. Kelly mulling over her words and knowing they were true. He had been hurt by her opening back up to Jay and seemingly shutting him out, but it made sense now that she had said it, and only furthered the guilt he felt knowing just how much he had hurt her. 

“You’re right.” He finally says. “You’re 100% right. We may not have been as close as we always had been at that point in the school year, but you were still one of my best friends and I am really sorry for what I did, but I promise you, I will never let that happen again. Our friendship means so much to me and I am sorry for everything, Gabs, I really am.”

Gabby smiles softly, meeting his eyes. “Me too, Kel. I’m sorry for everything too… even some of the digs that you definitely deserved over the years.” She jokes softly, Kelly throwing his head back in laughter as he scoffs. Once they settle she meets his eyes once more. “But really… I know you are sorry, and I know how much you’ve grown since then. I’m sorry for how long I let this drag on.” 

Kelly matches her smile. “Yeah, well, you wouldn’t be you without the flare of dramatics.” He teases, Gabby rolling her eyes but muttering out a ‘touche”. “But, me too. I’m sorry for all of it, Dawson. I promise I’ll spend the next year making it up to you.”

Gabby nods offering him a small smile, but remaining silent. She finally gets up from the swing after a few long beats of silence pass, Kelly following suit knowing this conversation was likely over. He moves to follow her into the house but her stopping and turning around has his brows raising in confusion, her next move catching him off guard as she wraps her arms around him in a hug. Severide’s shock waring off quickly as he wraps the small brunette in his arms, his chin resting on the top of her head as he smiles. 

“I missed you, Gabs.” He tells her sincerely, feeling her nod against his chest. 

“I missed you too, Kel.” 

They both knew this wouldn’t automatically fix everything, but they had made an important first step at healing their broken friendship and they both felt like a weight had been lifted off their shoulders at that realization. 

The two of them ready to let that past go and gain back the close bond they always had. 

Stella knocks almost cautiously on her best friend’s door frame, finding the small brunette sprawled out in the middle of her bed with a book open in front of her. 

“Hey, Ella.” 

Gabby offers her a small smile before looking back at her book, Stella taking that as her cue to enter and settling down on the bed beside her, staying silent while she waits for Gabby to finish her page. It only takes a minute longer before Gabby is placing her bookmark down and closing the book, turning her attention to her best friend.

Stella looks at her expectantly, Gabby only raising her brow in return. “What?” She finally asks after Stella offers nothing in the form of words. 

The long-haired girl huffs, crossing her legs in front of her and wringing her hands together. “I saw Kelly come over earlier.” She finally tells her. 

Gabby raises her brow challenging, “Saw him come over, or  _ told him _ to come over?” 

Kidd rolls her eyes, “Please, I didn’t tell him to do anything. I mean, I’ve told him the same thing I have told you; that it would mean a lot to me if my boyfriend and best friend got along.” 

Gabby nods her understanding, but says nothing, leaving Stella more and more on edge as she waits for any information on how their talk went. After much too long of silence passes for Stella’s liking she is finally whining out, “Gabs, come on. Tell me how it went!” She practically pleads. 

Dawson remains silent for a moment longer, before biting back a smirk at her friend’s frazzled state as she waits in anticipation. “It was good, El. I promise. Things are good between us.” She finally tells her. Stella’s eyes widen in shock, her mouth dropping open. 

“Really?” She asks cautiously, afraid to let herself get too excited. 

Gabby nods. “Yeah, really. I mean, I don’t know if we will ever be as close as we once were, but we’re good now.” 

Stella nods, processing the information before letting out a relieved breath, the two girls sitting in silence until Stella reaches out, squeezing her friend’s leg.

  
  


“Thank you, Ella… for talking with him, for forgiving him. It means a lot to me.” She says sincerely. 

“Yeah, I know it does… but honestly, El? I forgave him because it was time and because after our talk and his apology, I really  _ do _ forgive him. I did it for you just as much as I did it for myself.” 

Stella can’t help but smile at her friend’s honest words, “Well, if that’s the case, it means even more. I’m really happy you two are getting your friendship back.” She says sincerely, “And selfishly, happy to have my two best people getting along.” 

Dawson laughs nodding along, “I’m sorry that you ended up in the middle of this, Stella. But even before our talk today, you know you could always come to me about him. No matter where Kelly and I stood I am still your best friend first and you don’t have to shy away from talking about your boyfriend to me.” Stella nods along at her words, Gabby knowing despite them, her best friend hadn’t shared much about her relationship over the last couple weeks, clearly for her sake and decides to give her the opening now. 

“So, come on!” She laughs, slapping her friend’s leg lightly as she sits up. “Spill, how has it been?” 

The smile that fills her best friend’s face as she starts to gush about her new boyfriend tells Gabby all she needs to know as she listens along intently to all of Stella’s stories. Hanging on her friends every word as she gives her the floor to talk about all the things she had been holding back recently. 

It’s about a half-hour into the stories that Gabby’s eyes are widening as she bites back a laugh. “...wait, he calls you monkey?” 

Stella’s face turns fifty shades of red as Gabby catches onto the nickname, the girl practically groaning in embarrassment as she nods her answer. 

The short-haired brunette laughs lightly, shaking her head. “Please, that is adorable.” She says looking her friend over. Stella quirks a brow at her stare. 

“What?” 

Shrugging Gabby shakes her head. “Nothing, it’s just, I’ve been looking at those ears for 16 years and I don’t know how I didn’t think of that name first.” She teases. 

Stella’s mouth drops open in fake offense as she launches a pillow in Gabby’s direction, the latter falling over with laughter. 

“God, I cannot stand you.” She jokes. “Is this the kind of teasing I am in for now that you two are friends again?” She asks. 

Gabby bites back a smirk, shrugging. “Probably, yeah.” She agrees. 

With a roll of her eyes, Stella carries on with her original story, “Anyways…” 

  
  
  
  



	13. chapter thirteen

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The three of them are his girls, just in different senses of the word. Stella being his girlfriend and Shay his best friend obviously, but he’d known April just as long as Shay and Matt. Despite them not being super close there’s not much he wouldn’t do for her. At this thought, Gabby crosses his mind. The same statement rings true, and he hopes desperately for a way to prove it.
> 
> They pull into Shay’s driveway at 10:30, and Kelly doesn’t even bother turning off the truck. 
> 
> or
> 
> matt has dinner with the dawson’s. stellaride and shapril go on a double date. gabby has a date of her own, and a very popular question about a certain past event will be answered.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> back again! i hope all of you are doing alright. i am well aware of the state of the world right now, and i hope this fic can serve as a slight reprieve. this is one of the chapters that really moves the plot forward, so a lot happens! enjoy the ride.as always, this same fic will be posted on FF under shelby's username @/peytfan4ever. thanks so much for reading <3 (my twitter is @/annasrae and shelby's is @/shelbersmarie_ if anyone wants to reach out!)

Gabby smiles softly, unable to stop herself as she listens to Matt and her dad ramble on about the Blackhawks game playing on the television in the dining room, the two having a good view of it from their seats at the kitchen table while Gabby moves around the kitchen, her mother at the table with the guys, shaking her head at their clear enthusiasm. 

Matt has come over for dinner, and while it is far from the first time he had met her parents, it is the first time he has spent this much time around them while visiting. Casey becoming a permanent fixture in their home as of late, sharing many quick conversations with both Ramon and Camilia over the past few weeks, but nothing more. 

A dinner, cooked by Gabby at that, is never something the blond boy would turn down. Though he knows he had formed a relationship with the Dawson’s, he would be lying if he said he wasn’t nervous going into this evening. But from the moment he got to Dawson’s place today, he and Gabby pulling up in his beat-up pickup after Stella had given her a ride this morning, things have been going smoothly. 

Matt spends the majority of his evening talking sports with Ramon along with filtering in and out of the kitchen to help Gabby. Camila butting in here and there, whether it was about the game playing on the screen or about the feast Gabby was preparing. 

Cheers fill the room as Toews scores a goal for the Blackhawks, Gabby looking up from the simmering sauce, a large grin filling her face at not only the sight of her team winning, but her 

father and Matt sharing an enthusiastic high five in excitement. 

“Oh, it’s going to be a good season, Gabriela, I can feel it,” Ramon calls, looking back at his daughter. 

“From your mouth to God’s ears, Papa.” She says lightly her eyes meeting Matt’s as the two sharing a soft smile. Her father chuckles at her words before looking back to the television. A moment later his gaze is focused on the blond boy beside him. 

“Matthew, you’ll have to come to a game with us this season.” He tells him, watching the blond boy’s eyes light up, his gaze flickering to Gabby who gives him an encouraging nod. 

“I, I’d love that, Ramon.” He says sincerely, using the man’s first name after already being told a handful of times that the “sir” and “Mr. Dawson” is not needed. “Are uh, are you sure? I don’t want to impose.” 

“Nonsense. We get family tickets every year. Even with Antonio off to college we always get that fourth one just in case he would be home…”

“That is if you can get Stellabear to give up her seat for a game,” Camilia interjects, Gabby laughing softly at her parent’s affectionate nickname for her best friend that had stuck since childhood. 

“I’m sure El won’t mind,” Gabby interjects, the smile permanently glued to her face as she watches Matt’s eyes light up further at her father’s next words, Ramon clasping the blond boy on his shoulder. 

“Well then, it’s settled. We will have you come along to one of the next Saturday home games. Maybe after the football season ends and you both are a little freer?” He suggests. 

“Yeah, that’d be great. Thank you, really.” 

“Of course, son.” 

The words fall easily from Ramon’s mouth, but they make Matt’s heart swell. Feeling more at home and welcome here than he had in his own home since long before he could even remember. 

After a few beats of silence fall over the kitchen, Gabby is calling Matt over, his eyes racking over the spread of food she was preparing before falling on her as she stood at the stove with her back to him. Her short hair pulled into a haphazard bun that he had watched her throw up when she first stepped into the kitchen. Her v-neck top the same one she had worn to school today coupled with her ripped jeans that clung to her hips like a second skin. The pair ones he had become fond of over the past month, ones she thankfully wore often. 

“You got the whole junior class coming over to feast on all this?” He jokes lightly. 

Gabby turns towards him, laughing softly. “Please, this is a normal night in the Dawson house.” She says honestly, “Plus, I made enough for you to take some leftover’s home.” She tells him, turning back to the simmering sauce to hide the blush that hits her cheeks. 

“You didn’t have to do that.” He tells her. 

She simply shrugs, “I know, but I wanted too.” Casey goes to interject but she is turning around slowly, her hand resting under the wooden spoon she was holding out in his direction. “Here, try this… careful though, it’s a little spicy.” She warns. 

Casey smirks, “I can handle it.”

Gabby looks him up and down with a raised brow, biting back her comment as he leans forward taking a bite. He moans in appreciation, and before Gabby can stop herself she is reaching out to wipe the sauce that ended up on the side of his mouth, Matt not moving away from her touch as he nods his head, swallowing the delicious bite. 

“Oh my God, that’s amazing.” He tells her, causing her smile to take over her face. Her hopeful eyes look to his. 

“Yeah?” She questions. 

“Mhm, seriously, phenomenal. Where’d you learn to cook like this?” 

“Mostly my Mom, but my Abuela basically puts me through cooking classes every time she is in town.” She jokes lightly, Matt laughing at her words. 

“Well, they definitely worked, Gabs.”

The two share soft smiles, only pulling away when the kitchen timer is dinging, Gabby turning around to pull the bread out of the oven. She sets the pan down on the oven mitt and turns to turn off the stovetop. 

“Dinner’s done.” She passes the stack of plates and silverware to her mother as she comes over and begins to set the table while she passes steaming dishes off to her father and Matt to set around the table, the four of them working in harmony to get the table together with the feast Gabby has prepared. Matt still is blown away by the amount of food she had prepared. The meal looks far more complex than something he could have thrown together let alone anything he had consumed in a very long while. 

The four settle around the table and after a quick grace are digging in. Conversation flows freely, the four of them never skipping a beat as they enjoy their meal. The conversation around the table moving from the hockey game that Camila had forced them to turn off until after dinner, to Gabby and Matt’s school work and back to the upcoming homecoming game now just a short week away. 

Gabby watches with a full heart as Matt bonds so casually with her family. How her mother and father welcome him in like one of their own, her dad having more genuine conversation with him this evening then he ever had with Jay in all the time her former boyfriend had been around. She can tell her parents genuinely are enjoying Matt’s company and it makes her happier than she can fully express. 

When she looks at Matt with a megawatt smile filling his beautiful face she knows the feeling is mutual. Matt happily talking with her parents the entire time she cooked while still finding a way to make her feel included from across the room. Whether he was offering to help her cook, taste testing the food, or just coming to check on her, Matt being here tonight feels right. It feels absolutely perfect. 

Somehow he fits so perfectly into her life… into every single aspect of her life and that thought terrified her… because he isn’t hers. 

As much as she wants him to be, as much as she wishes this was a dinner with her parents and her boyfriend, it isn’t… and she isn’t sure it ever will be. 

One thing that has become abundantly clear over the last weeks of getting closer and closer to Matt is that she won’t do anything to jeopardize their friendship. The bond they have grown became something she never wanted to let go of. The comfort and security she feels around him is something she has never experienced before and if all she ever has with him is what she has now, she wants to believe it will be enough. 

Having what she has with Matt now is better than having nothing at all. She can’t imagine ever not having him in her life. He means too much to her for that… and it’s those thoughts that continue to lead her back to the one thing she hadn’t been able to shake for weeks now. 

She loves Matt Casey, she probably always will, but if she is unwilling to ruin their friendship with those feelings then where does that leave her?

And she hates that the honest answer to that keeps leading her back to one thing… that she needs to move on.

“You okay?” Casey’s soft voice is pulling her from her thoughts, his blue eyes shining back at her with concern as her parents continue to chat. Gabby swallows thickly before forcing a smile onto her face. 

“Yeah, just spaced out… I’m good.” 

Casey looks at her skeptically for a moment, clearly seeing through her lie, but she is thankful when he doesn’t push her on it, only reaching out to squeeze her arm in comfort before taking another bite of his food. 

He chews for a moment before swallowing and directing his attention back to her again. “Thank you, again, for inviting me over.” His sincere words have her heart rate picking up. “Your parents are great, and this food is amazing. I had no idea you could cook like this.”

This time when Gabby smiles, it’s genuine, heat filling her cheeks at his words forcing her to look down to her plate and away from his crystal blue eyes, her bottom lip tucking between her teeth nervously. 

Ramon smiles softly as he watches the two of them from across the table. The smile on his baby girls face one he had never seen before. 

It is clear his Gabriela is in love, the only thing even more clear was that the boy next to her is just as in love with her. In the few boys he had met over the years, no one had made his daughter as happy as Matt Casey, that much he is sure of, and whether the two of them realize it yet or not, the truth of their feelings is very much clear to anyone around them. 

Ramon believes his daughter when she tells him they are just friends, she has no reason to lie after all, but he knew just from one look that the feelings the two of them share are far beyond friends. After spending more time with Matthew tonight as well as the few conversations they’d had in the weeks since he started coming by more often leaving the older Dawson sure that he can trust the blond boy. 

It instills in him that the choice he made just a short week ago was the right one. It was one that he did for not only his daughter but for the boy that had stolen her heart. It was one he would make again if he had to, one he would never regret. 

_ Ramon Dawson pushed his truck into park as he pulled up in front of the beat-up mechanic shop. Looking up through his windshield to read the faded sign before taking one last look at the post-it note that held the name and address that he had received from Antonio the night before.  _

_ Taking a deep breath to steady himself Ramon grabbed the envelope from the passenger seat, tucking it into his coat pocket before pulling the keys from the ignition and exiting the vehicle.  _

_ He could feel his blood pumping in his ears as he took long steps up the sidewalk, doing what he could to remain calm despite the anger coursing through his system every time he was reminded of both Gabriela’s and Matthew’s words from the night before. A new deep-seated rage passing through him every time he thought of it.  _

_ The older Dawson stepped through the open garage door, being met by the smell of gasoline and loud music playing. His eyes traveling around the open garage looking for one person in particular.  _

_ “Can I help you with something?” Ramon looked to his left as a younger man walked up to him, confusion written across his face as he took him in.  _

_ “Yeah. Uh, I’m looking for Alan Casey. He here?”  _

_ The man, Chuck, read the name tag sewed into the overall bibs he was wearing raised his brow in interest, but simply pointed to the back corner where Ramon saw a dirty, faded tan door.  _

_ “He’s in the office I think.”  _

_ Ramon nods, muttering a quick ‘thank you’ before moving in that direction.  _

_ Stepping through the door he lays eyes on the man he just knows is Alan Casey from one look.  _

_ “Who the hell are you?”  _

_ Ramon’s eyes set into a glare the minute his mouth opens, the harsh words unsurprising considering the reason he was here in the first place.  _

_ “I’m the man who is here to tell you to get the hell out of Chicago, and stay out.”  _

_ Alan laughs heartily, taking another long puff of his cigarette, seemingly unfazed by his words. “Oh yeah? And why would I do that?” He asks, clearly entertained, his smug face making Ramon’s blood boil further.  _

_ “Well, for starters, because if you don’t leave I am turning you in for domestic violence and child abuse.” Alan’s intense stare went from smug to angry in two seconds flat, his blue eyes that matched his sons going dark. Ramon getting only the briefest idea of what Matt dealt with when he was around. “On top of that, I’m sure the IRS would love to know where you’ve been hiding out. It’s not a good idea ya know, going head to head with the government on back taxes.”  _

_ Alan stood up with a start, his chair falling to the floor behind him. “Who the hell do you think you are? Huh? Coming in here, acting like you know something…” _

_ Ramon took a step closer, backing Alan into the wall as he spoke through gritted teeth, effectively cutting the older Casey off. “Oh shut the hell up, Alan. Save it. Don’t act like you care or show any remorse for what you’ve done. For what you’ve put your son and ex-wife through because you are a coward of a man.” Ramon pulled the envelope from his pocket, shoving it into Alan’s chest. “I don’t care where you go, I don’t care what you do, as long as you get the hell out of this city and never come back. Stay the hell away from your son. Take the money, it’s yours, as long as you go.” _

_ Alan’s brow raised, swallowing thickly as he looked down at the envelope, seeing the money peaking out the edges. “You’re serious?”  _

_ Ramon nodded, taking a small step back as Alan looked at the envelope closer, running his finger over the bills. “It’s ten grand.” Ramon supplemented, Alan’s wide eyes finding him again. “Enough to get you out of here and to start a life somewhere else.”  _

_ Alan remained silent only a moment longer, clearly weighing his options. “Why are you doing this? Was it Nancy? She come to you… or was it Matt? What-” _

_ “Does it matter?” Ramon barks out. Alan swallows thickly, his steady glare trained on the man across from him before looking back to the envelope.  _

_ “I guess it doesn’t.” He mutters, tucking the envelope into his back pocket.  _

_ Ramon nods, taking a step to the door before turning around. “You get your shit, and you leave. Tonight. Don’t stop to see them. Don’t go anywhere near your son again.” He warns, his brown eyes turning darker. “You take that money, and you go, because I swear to God, Alan, I so much as hear your name uttered from that boy’s mouth again and the cops and IRS will be the least of your worries.” _

_ Ramon leaves him no time to respond, turning and heading right back out the door, a heavy feeling settling into his chest as he made his way back to his truck, hoping more than anything he made the right decision.  _

“Why am I nervous?” Stella questions, half to herself and half to her boyfriend in the driver’s seat. 

“Because you’re obsessed with what other people think of you,” he replies casually as they turn into the neighborhood. 

“Dick.”

“You asked!”

“That doesn’t mean I want you to answer,” she states as if it’s obvious.

Kelly looks over and squints before deciding any response would only make things worse. He pulls into Shay’s driveway and takes the keys from the ignition.

“This’ll be fun!” she says unconvincingly.

“Monkey, this is Shay and April we’re talking about. You’ve known them for months now and I’ve known them for years. They’re our friends!”

“You’re right.” She releases a deep breath. “You’re right.”

“I always am.” Kelly smirks and she rolls her eyes as they get out of the car.

He fiddles with his keys as they make it to the front porch and opens the door with ease.

“Brooke!” He greets loudly as soon as they enter the house. 

A brunette woman with Leslie’s signature cheekbones hops up from the couch immediately as they walk in, likely as a result of hearing someone unlocking her front door.

“Kelly! Hey Darling, how’re you doing?” She says in a surprisingly deep Southern accent as she embraces him.

“Can’t complain,” he says, smiling widely. “Where’s Sam?”

“The store. Finally got his lazy ass off the couch after a week of my nagging ‘bout eating take out every night.” She laughs as she says this, and Stella finds herself envious of the close relationship Leslie’s parents clearly have. 

“Now is this the new girl I’ve been hearing about?” Brooke Shay asks as she eyes the teenager.

Stella blushes at the thought of once again being talked about by those she’s closest to when she’s not around. 

“Yes ma’am. I’m Stella, Kelly’s, uh-” She isn’t entirely sure why she pauses there. Maybe because it’s her first time introducing herself this way, or because of that tiny doubt in the back of her mind saying that their entire relationship is just some cruel trick being played on her and he’s waiting for the right moment to reveal the punchline.

“My girlfriend.” Kelly finishes without missing a beat. She looks up at him, beaming. 

“Well, hello Miss Stella. You must be a dream if you’re willing to put up with Kelly’s stubborn self.” Brooke says as she looks between the two of them. 

“Hey!” Kelly exclaims as he feigns shock. 

“Oh, shut it. The girls are upstairs, Stella, if you wanna grab ‘em,” she offers kindly.

Stella nods and walks in the direction she’d pointed to the staircase. The conversation between Brooke and Kelly, seemingly about his performance at the last game, fades as she goes. 

The house is larger than Kelly’s, but smaller than her own. The decor is simple, but sweet, and she feels although she’s been transported somewhere much farther south. Cliche quotes line the walls along with adorable pictures of a young Shay and her parents. She notes that her father definitely passed down his smile. Love emanates from the frames. Stella chuckles to herself at a particular portrait of her friend in a pink frilly dress at what looks to be around five years old; the dramatic pout on her face provides a clear reasoning for that being the only one of her in any feminine attire after that age. Her heart swells even more as she notices a picture of April and Leslie mid-laughter, clearly a candid and beautiful shot. 

That reminds her of her mission, and Stella heads toward the bedroom with “Leslie” painted in red letters on the door. Thinking back, it likely would have been wise for her to knock before opening the closed door, but for some reason that doesn’t cross her mind as Stella turns the knob and pushes.

“Hey, we-  _ shit. _ ”

She’s met with the fairly shocking sight of a topless Shay with her hand up April’s miniskirt as they make out on the edge of her bed. They both look up at the sound of her voice.

Needless to say, Stella shuts the door immediately with wide eyes.

“I’m so sorry!” she shouts from the other side.

She’s met with the sound of loud laughter from Shay and some undoubtedly embarrassed whispers from her girlfriend: 

“We'll be down in a minute!” April says in a shakier version of her usual calm tone.

“Sorry!” Stella yells once more before bolting back down the steps.

“They coming?” Kelly asks when she arrives back in the living room. 

“Yeah.” Stella offers a quick smile and desperately hopes the burning feeling her cheeks feels worse than it looks.

Kelly furrows his eyebrows but at a quick look from his girlfriend, he realizes it’s a conversation they will have later. 

“You have a beautiful family Ms. Shay,” she comments randomly in a rapid attempt to change the subject.

“Well, that’s awfully kind of you, dear.” She blinks at Stella in slight confusion.

“I was just looking at the pictures on your walls on the way up to Leslie’s room,” Stella adds in clarification.

“Oh! Yes, my husband is a wonderful photographer, isn’t he?”

“He took those?”

“Sure did. Most of ‘em anyway.” There’s a proud smile on Brooke’s face.

Stella’s about to compliment his skills when Shay and April enter the room looking far more put together than they had moments ago. 

“Ready?” Kelly asks.

“Let’s hit it!” is Shay’s reply while April nods and pointedly avoids eye contact with Stella. 

“Have fun y’all!” Brooke yells after them as they load into the truck. “Don’t forget curfew!”

“Uh huh. Bye Ma!”

She waves from the doorway as the kids pull off.

“What took you guys so long? We’ve had this planned for like a week,” Kelly questions from the driver’s seat.

As if on cue, April pulls out her phone and glues her eyes to it.

Stella suddenly finds the trees outside of her window extremely interesting. 

Leslie, on the other hand, sees no issue with the question and answers promptly.

“Well we  _ were _ getting ready to go when Sexton over here looked at me like she wanted to-”

“Leslie Shay I swear to god if you finish that sentence.” April interrupts with no semblance of a joke in her tone. 

Shay takes the overt hint and replaces her words.

“We got distracted.” She completes abruptly with her girlfriend’s surprisingly harsh gaze burning into her.

Stella stifles a laugh and Kelly throws her a knowing glance.

“Got it,” he replies and turns up the radio to drown out the ensuing awkward silence. 

The bowling alley is dimly lit and nearly empty, the perfect scene for their double date. 

After they pay, Kelly and April split off to look at snacks while Shay and Stella head to the counter to grab shoes.

“Size?” The deflated teenage boy behind the counter asks with his back turned to them. It could only be assumed he heard their footsteps in the otherwise fairly quiet building.

“6 and 7 in women’s” Leslie replies as she drums her finger on the counter with impatience. She glances over at Stella expectantly.

“Oh, uh 7 in women’s and…” she trails off, realizing that she has absolutely no idea what shoe size Kelly wears. She immediately becomes anxious despite the worker still being turned away from them as he searches for the sizes.

“10 in men.” Leslie finishes like it’s second nature. 

“Thanks.” Stella faces her with a smile of gratitude.

“No sweat.” She returns it and continues her rhythm on the surface.

But the process goes a lot slower than expected, likely due to the fact that the boy is walking at a snail’s pace, and an awkward silence falls over the two. Unable to handle it, Stella blurts out the first thing that comes to mind.

“Has Kelly had a lot of girlfriends?”

It isn’t what she’d expected to say, but the thought had actually been in the back of her mind for months now for a reason she can’t quite put her finger on.

Her friend is unfazed though, and simply replies with, “Define a lot,” as she meets Stella’s eyes.

“Like...double digits?” she asks unsure of if she wants the answer.

Shay squints her eyes in concentration, a small smile playing at her lips.

“Actually how are we defining girlfriend? There’s a big difference in the number of girls he’s slept with and the ones he’s actually-“

“You know what? Nevermind.” Stella cuts her off out of concern for the wellbeing of her relationship. “I think it’s better off if I don’t know,” she comments with an awkward, light laugh.

“If it makes you feel better you’re my favorite.”

Stella feels her own eyes soften at those words. A stamp of approval from Kelly’s best friend means the world, especially when she hadn’t even asked for it.

“Really?” she asks genuinely.

“Oh yeah. It’s been hella nice having Kelly be with someone I actually enjoy spending time with and can talk to without having to fake nice.” She says this as if it’s obvious but it makes Stella want to shout with joy.

“Aw well, I’m glad I can be of service.”

Shay winks at her in response, and she finds herself fighting a blush as their shoes finally make an appearance in front of them. 

“Just choose an alley,” he mumbles before going to sit in a corner and pulling out his phone.

“10/10 customer service,” Stella says as they search for their partners.

“Top notch,” she jokes back and earns another light laugh. 

“Hey you! Stop flirting with my girlfriend!” Kelly shouts from not too far ahead of where the girls walked. Even from the distance, Stella can make out April hitting him on the shoulder and shaking her head.

“Too late, she’s mine now!” Leslie shouts back with a satisfied grin and pecks her friend on the cheek for good measure. The brunette grins and throws her arm over Leslie’s shoulder. 

Seconds later Kelly is taking his shoes from his girlfriend’s hand and somehow almost simultaneously punching his best friend in the shoulder.

“Cut it out.” April scolds as she accepts the shoes Leslie offers her as she pretends her shoulder is broken. “You two are such children.” But she can’t fight the slight smile at the antics she’s more than accustomed to.

“I know you are but what am I,” Shay retorts.

“An idiot,” says April without missing a beat.

“Your idiot.” Leslie grins smugly and steals a kiss before sitting down to tie her laces. 

“Unfortunately.” April sighs dramatically but throws a wide smile her girlfriend’s way.

Much to Stella’s surprise, the incredibly athletic Kelly Severide is absolute shit at bowling. After knocking down a total of 4 pins after both rolls, he hangs his head in defeat to avoid watching the embarrassing numbers appear on the screen above them.

“Hey, Kel I could ask them to bring out the bumpers they use for the kids if you want?” Shay taunts. 

“You’re so funny.” Kelly deadpans.

“I think you’re doing  _ amazing _ , babe,” Stella says, her tone dripping with sarcasm.

“Aw thanks, monkey,” he replies and watches expectantly as her face glows red. He’d quickly caught on to how embarrassed the nickname makes her when he uses it around other people. It’s a fair retaliation to her mocking him, he thinks.

“Monkey?” April asks without bothering to stifle her laughter. 

“My turn.” Stella says suddenly and practically sprints away from the group to grab a ball and roll.

She scores a spare, and yelps with victory as the final pin falls.

“Take that!”

“Take notes, Kel,” Shay says with a smirk.

“Please, I just had a rough round,” he rebuttals.

“You mean three rounds?” April questions innocently.

“You too?” He looks at her, feigning shock.

“Just saying.” she grins softly and Shay high-fives her.

Kelly’s unlucky streak follows him throughout the entire game, and he loses with a remarkably low score.

“You get an A for effort, hot shot,” she reassures him as they walk back to his truck.

“I’m just out of my area. I belong on a football field, not a bowling alley.” He opens the door for her.

“I wouldn’t be so sure about that big guy. Last Friday’s game was a little weak,” says Leslie as she does the same for April.

“I hurt my shoulder! I told you that!”

“We believe you, Kelly.” April reassures.

He rolls his eyes but chuckles as they pull out of the parking lot.

They blast the radio on the drive back, the girls belting whatever song is on while Kelly shakes his head and pretends not to enjoy it. Of course, he often spares a glance at Stella and revels in how utterly happy she is to be having fun with the friends she’d undoubtedly gotten closer to tonight. It amazes him that she was ever nervous at all. 

The three of them are his girls, just in different senses of the word. Stella being his girlfriend and Shay his best friend obviously, but he’d known April just as long as Shay and Matt. Despite them not being super close there’s not much he wouldn’t do for her. At this thought, Gabby crosses his mind. The same statement rings true, and he hopes desperately for a way to prove it.

They pull into Shay’s driveway at 10:30, and Kelly doesn’t even bother turning off the truck. 

“Tell Brooke I said goodnight!” He shouts after the girls as they walk inside.

“Text me when you’re home!” is what Shay responds with, followed by a light-hearted “Bye!” from April.

He drops by Stella’s next, and fights the sadness he feels at leaving her after such a great time.

“Night hot shot.” She leans across the console for a quick kiss goodnight. But Kelly missed the taste of her lips and almost immediately deepens it, sliding a hand in her hair. Stella follows suit, her entire body nearly going limp as she takes in his scent. She pulls away, though, forcing herself to come back down to reality.

“You’re gonna make me miss curfew,” she mutters against his lips.

“What’s a few minutes?” he asks slyly and closes the gap once again. 

She concedes but only for a moment and then sits up with hooded eyes.

“The difference between me being grounded and being able to hang out with you tomorrow.” She hopes the words come out more level than she feels. 

“Fine, but I’m holding you to that.” He sighs.

“I sure hope so.” Stella gets out before she does something she might regret and closes the door behind her. “Text me when you’re home safe?”

“Sure, night babe.”

Her heart swells at the pet name, despite that being far from the first time it’s been used between them.

“Goodnight!” she shouts over her shoulder as she unlocks her front door.

About fifteen minutes later, she’s just getting out of the shower when her phone vibrates in its place on the sink.

_ I’m home. Sweet dreams monkey.  _

And moments later:

_ I told you there was nothing to worry about. _

And he was right, Stella had an amazing time, and she can’t wait to do it again.

She simply sends back a heart emoji and closes her eyes, trying her absolute best to recapture the smell of cedarwood and gasoline.

Matt’s eyebrows furrow as he walked from the lunch line back to their normal table, the sight in front of him causing him to stop in his tracks. The sight of Gabby sat down at the table with one of the seniors, Adam, standing next to her, much too close for Casey’s liking. 

Gabby’s eyes light up as she laughs, tucking her short straight hair behind her ear. He takes slow steps towards the table, Gabby and Adam the only two there so far. As he steps closer Adam catches sight of him, smiling in his direction. 

“Casey, hey man.” He greets, Matt offering him a smile in return. 

“Hey, Ruzek.” 

Matt watches his eyes move back to Gabby and he takes his seat, Gabby’s back still partially to him while she speaks to the other guy. Matt hating the sting of jealousy that courses through him. 

“I’ll catch you later, Gabby.” 

Dawson nods, Casey trying to ignore the far too wide smile on her face as she turns back to him, but not after she watches Adam walk away for far longer than he would have liked. 

Matt takes a bite of his food, not having much of an appetite after what he walked up on, but finding distracting himself with food a far better option than just sitting there. 

“Hey! How was the science test?” She questions after she’d turned herself around and angled herself to face him. 

Matt swallows his bite of food, taking a drink of the water he had grabbed before looking back to her, unable to keep up his bad mood too much when she was looking at him with those wide, inviting brown eyes. 

“It was good. I definitely aced it.” He gloats, Gabby scoffing as she laughs, her head shaking. 

“I’m sure you did. Guess all that studying after dinner last night helped.” 

Matt shakes his head, unable to stop his smile. “I mean, don’t go tooting your own horn, but yeah, I think it really did.” 

The brunette smiles softly, tucking her hair behind her ear. “Well, I am happy to help… and my dad has not stopped talking about having you watch another game with him soon.” She tells him. Ramon clearly enjoying having another man in the house to talk hockey with. “I do my best to talk hockey with him, but he is definitely missing Antonio during the season. Don’t be surprised if he starts calling you over to hang out more than I do.” She teases. 

Casey shakes his head, laughing lightly, “I mean, Ramon  _ is _ better company, so I won’t complain.” He moves quickly as Gabby reaches out, slapping his shoulder as she sends him a playful glare, clearly unimpressed. 

“Keep it up, Casey, and I am revoking any and all invitations.” She challenges, Matt holding his hands out in surrender before taking another bite of his food, the two of them settling. 

After a beat of silence, Matt looks her way again. “But uh, really, Gabby… I had a lot of fun last night. With Ramon and your mom… and with you too.” He says softly. Their eyes locking on his last words, Gabby resisting the urge to tuck her hair behind her ear as a shiver course through her. 

“I did too, Matt.” She says sincerely. 

“Gabriela Dawson, was that Adam I saw you talking too earlier?” Shay shout whispers as she sets her tray down across from them with a bang, effectively pulling the two of them out of their own little world. Gabby nearly jumping out of her skin as she looks up at her blonde friend. 

She shifts uncomfortably at Shay’s words, sparing one last glance to Matt as he returns to eating his food. “Uh yeah. Yeah, that was him.”

April settles down beside Shay, Stella, and Kelly joining only a moment later as Shay smirks, her blue eyes glued to her best friend sat across from her. 

“And?” Shay prompts. 

“And what?” Kelly asks, catching on to only the end of the conversation.

Gabby squirms in her seat once more. 

“And…” Shay says pointedly, “Gabby was just about to tell me why Adam Ruzek was over here talking to her.”

Kelly smirks at Shay’s words, looking down to find Gabby avoiding eye contact like the plague, his grin losing steam as he notices Casey sat beside her, clearly trying to hide just how much he was hating this topic of discussion. 

“Who’s Adam Ruzek?” Stella asks curiously looking between her boyfriend then back to Shay and Dawson. 

“He’s a senior, star of the hockey team, tall, dark, and handsome.” April cuts in, Shay immediately shooting her a look. “Or so I’ve been told.” She continues, Stella laughing lightly at the two’s banter. 

Shay shakes her head at her girlfriend before her eyes are focused back on Gabby. 

“ _ Anyways _ , Dawson was about to tell us all about him.” 

Gabby shoots her a slight glare before shrugging. “There is nothing to tell.” She tries to play off, Shay clearly not taking that as an answer. 

“You are a terrible liar, you know? It’s a wonder you get away with anything honestly.” She deadpans, only earning another glare from her best friend. “Come on! Spill it.” 

Shifting uncomfortably, Gabby spares a quick glance at the blond man beside her whose sole focus is on the tray in front of him, before looking back to Shay. “He asked me out on a date. I said yes. You happy now?” 

Shay lets out a noise of excitement, smacking her hand against the table. “I knew it!” 

Gabby shakes her head, unable to hide her smile as she nods. Despite feeling uncomfortable discussing this given the group, she can’t help but feel excited, and she know she had no reason to feel uncomfortable, to begin with. Casey is her friend… and only her friend. 

The whole point of getting herself back out there was to pull herself out of this funk and move on. She should have no issues discussing her love life with her friend after all… and god, even she knew how dumb that sounded. 

She pushes herself up from the table, all eyes falling on her as she stands. “I’m gonna go grab lunch.” She mutters, deciding to get away from the table before Shay could ask her any further questions on the topic was a good idea. 

“Oh yeah, you better do that… ya know since you were too busy talking to  _ Adam _ earlier.” Shay teases, practically singing his name to further her teasing tone. Gabby shoots her a hard glare, flipping her off before turning swiftly and walking away. 

Shay laughs loudly, but a second later a somber feeling is settling around the table, her gaze falling to Casey who had yet to say a word, Shay muttering a cuss word under her breath as she realizes. 

“Sorry, Casey.” 

His eyes snap up to hers and he shrugs, quickly plastering a smile on his face. 

“For what? It’s fine. Gabby and I are just friends, Shay.” He plays off quickly and despite wanting to argue Shay simply nods, knowing fighting that point would only add further insult to injury, and she is thankful when Kelly quickly swoops in, changing the subject and moving the conversation along. 

“So when you see a polynomial function what should your first thought be?” Mr. Hermann asks the apathetic group of students.

“I need to get the hell out of there,” Gabby whispers her joking response to her best friend sitting next to her as she doodles on the borders of her notebook. But when Stella doesn’t respond she looks over in concern. They always spend their math period joking around; it serves as a reprieve from the stress of the rest of the day. 

She finds her friend’s fingers pressed into her own temples as she drills holes into the worksheet in front of her with her stare. Her eyebrows are scrunched and Gabby practically hears gears turning in her mind.

“You can’t learn algebra through osmosis, you know.” She says bumping Stella’s shoulder with her own.

“Yeah.” Stella sighs, unmoving.

Gabby sweeps over her once more and immediately recognizes the tense shoulder and squinted eyes.

“Go get some air.” There’s no question in her tone.

“After I figure this out,” she responds distractedly.

“El.”

“Just a few more minutes, yeah?” She takes her right hand off her temple and begins to scratch some numbers down.

“Stella, you know how bad these get. I’m not arguing about this with you.” Gabby responds, concern coming out as seriousness.

“Girls, do I need to separate you?  _ Again _ ?” Mr. Hermann asks from the front of the room.

Gabby turns to face him, eyebrows raised. Before she can give a reply that will likely have them permanently placed on opposite sides of the room, Stella speaks up.

“No, Mr. Hermann. We’re sorry. Won’t happen again.” She offers a smile that he returns, and he continues to ramble on. 

“Good, because I’m not either.” Stella says quietly in response to Gabby’s earlier statement. “Now please help me with number three because I’m not leaving until the bell rings.”

Gabby rolls her eyes but obliges. She knows there’s pretty much no getting through to her best friend when she’s in this state. 

Thankfully, class goes by fairly quick and the bell resounds throughout the room. Stella is gone before Gabby can even zip her book bag closed. This isn’t a surprise though; she’s likely escaping to the bathroom for a few moments of peace before the next class.

Gabby rises from her chair with a huff and looks up to see Kelly entering the room. Usually, he catches Stella before she leaves and they get all sappy until the second bell rings. This time, though, he’s met with the sight of a frustrated Gabby and his girlfriend is nowhere to be found.

“You alright?” he asks as he approaches.

Gabby appreciates the authentic concern behind the question and rewards it with honesty.

“Just frustrated.”

He raises his eyebrows, clearly expecting a further explanation. Gabby fights back the urge to say something snappy and walk away. If their friendship is ever going to be restored, there’s going to need to be an effort from both sides. Not to mention Stella definitely won’t mention any of this to him unprompted, and Gabby will, unfortunately, be on her date. She pushes down the regret she already feels at her evening plans. The twinge of uncertainty hitting her soon after Adam walked away from the table earlier today and only deepening throughout the rest of the school day.

“It’s Stella. She gets these headaches sometimes when she gets too overwhelmed. They can get really serious if she doesn’t take a minute to chill out, which she never does.” Gabby rolls her eyes again, recalling the plethora of times she’d dealt with an unbearably stubborn Stella in an intense amount of pain. It’s difficult to watch when there’s so little she can do.

“And she’s having one right now?” Kelly asks, already thinking of ways to get through to her.

“Yeah, at least the beginning of one. She’s having some trouble with this class. Nothing she can’t handle but... well you know how much of a perfectionist she is.” 

“Got it. I’ll do what I can.” 

Just then the bell rings signaling the start of the next period.

“Shit, I gotta go. Thanks Kelly.” She heads out the door.

“No sweat,” he calls after her.

Stella is engaged in a deep focus while studying for her algebra test when she nearly jumps out of her skin at the sound of someone’s voice.

“You’re pretty when you’re focused.”

She looks up to see Kelly standing in her doorway, a soft smile on his face. He’s wearing loose ripped jeans and a long-sleeved black shirt; the outfit is simple, but Stella still finds him incredibly attractive. Too attractive for her to concentrate on studying.

“What are you doing here?” she says with a smile despite already knowing his response.

“Hi to you too.” He moves from his position in the doorway over to where Stella is sitting in her bed, giving her a quick kiss before sitting right next to her on the olive comforter. 

She’s already returned her attention to filling out the review packet full of math problems by the time he settles in. 

Her head is still down when she reminds Kelly of the same thing she’s had to every time he comes over.

“Shoes.” 

Kelly groans and kicks off his running shoes before returning to his spot. He’d meant what he said when he first arrived; Stella is beautiful when she forgets there’s a world around her. Her hair is up in a bun, and her eyebrows are furrowed together as she mutters various numbers to herself. She’s chewing on the eraser end of her pencil distractedly as she thinks through the problem. The oversized grey t-shirt she’s wearing is tied into a knot on the side, revealing a slim line of skin above her black leggings. She just looks so natural, and Kelly feels as though he’s staring at art. But he knows she’s not in the headspace to receive his compliments, so he asks an important question instead.

“How long have you been working on this?”

“I don’t know, maybe half an hour?” she replies distractedly, scribbling down an answer.

Kelly pulls out his phone. It’s 6:45. He remembers trying and failing to catch Stella rushing home from school right after it ended at 3, probably so she could start studying. The drive from Lincoln Park to her house was 10 minutes with traffic. It had been almost four hours.

“Stella, what time is it?” he asks, putting his phone away.

“Like 4, 4:30, maybe? I don’t know Kelly I gotta foc-” she’s cut off by a silent wince. Her eyes squeeze shut for a moment before she shakes it off and continues writing. 

“It’s a quarter to 7, Stella, and what was that?” he asks with concern.

“What was what?”

“That. You winced.”

“It’s nothing, Kelly. I’m fi-,” she groans, clearly feeling the pain again, “I’m fine.”

“You’re not fine. Is it your head?” Kelly pushes, his concern growing. Gabby’s words about the severity of these headaches repeat in his mind

Stella sighs, looking up at him for a second before answering.

“Yeah. It’s not bad, though, it’ll go away. You, on the other hand, don’t seem to be going anywhere despite the fact that I am clearly busy.” Her tone is almost harsh, and it sets Kelly back a little bit.

“Do you really want me to go?” he questions.

“No.” She replies, and she’s telling the truth. As much as Stella wants to study for this test, Kelly’s presence always makes her feel calmer, safer. Things are easier when he’s around.

“Good.” Kelly takes this as a signal and shifts much closer to Stella, positioning himself behind her so she’s sitting between his legs and her back is to his chest.

“What are you up to?” she asks quietly, honestly not paying much attention to his movements. It isn’t until she feels his fingers on the sides of her head that Stella catches on.

“Can I?” His voice is soft and sweet, and she forces herself to remember the importance of her grade on this next test. 

“You’re gonna do great tomorrow, monkey, I know it.” He reads her mind, and Stella’s will weakens.

“Kelly, I-”

“Please?” he practically begs.

“Fine. But only for a little while.” Stella concedes, unable to resist the relief she knows this will give her.

“Thank you,” he whispers before placing a kiss on the top of her head.

Kelly gets to work massaging her temples, and his touch is somehow exactly what she needs. The amount of pressure is perfect, and Stella can’t hold back the quiet moan that escapes her lips as the pain dissolves. But after a few moments, he stops. A second before she can start to whine Stella feels her bun loosen and then disappear as he removes the hair tie. Her hair cascades down, and Kelly spends a few minutes with his hands in her scalp before moving back to her temples.

“Better?”

“Perfect,” she hums as her eyes flutter closed.

Stella tries to fight the wave of tiredness that washes over her as she relaxes into her boyfriend but to no avail. Sleep overtakes her, but not before Stella hears her favorite voice in her ear.

“Sweet dreams, monkey.”

Gabby takes a steadying breath as Adam pulls his car up in front of her house. A feeling she hadn’t expected to hit her being relief, but staring up at her residence it was all she felt. Relief, to be home… to have this date over. 

The date itself had been great. Adam was wonderful. He was kind, caring, a complete gentleman. They went to dinner and miniature golfing, and she had fun. She enjoyed herself, she really did… but it was not long after they finished miniature golf, only about a quarter of the way through their meal that it hit her. 

Adam was great, he was perfect, but none of that mattered… because he wasn’t Matt Casey, and he never could be. 

Her plan to move on, to forget her feelings and move past it, to accept that she and Matt were friends and nothing more blowing up in her face drastically as soon as those thoughts hit her. Gabby spending the remainder of the date doing everything she could to keep up a happy face. The last thing she wanted was to make Adam feel bad because truthfully he had done nothing wrong. If anything she was in the wrong, she should have never agreed to go out with him when she knew she had feelings for someone else. 

But God had she really just hoped she had been wrong. 

Dawson had hoped that if she could just put herself out there that moving on would come easy. That maybe the feelings she had were just hyped up in her own head, that going out and getting him off her mind would give her some clarity. 

Now, she had clarity alright… but the only thing more clear now than ever was that her feelings for Matt were not going anywhere. They weren’t overhyped. They were very much real and raw, and here to stay.

“Tonight uh… didn’t exactly go as I expected. I’m sorry, Gabby.” 

Dawson turns back at his words, her brows furrowing as she shakes her head, reaching out to rest her hand on his arm. 

“No, please don’t apologize. I’m sorry, Adam. You’re amazing, I promise it was not you, it’s me… I just…” Gabby stops her rambling, taking a settling breath as her eyes close for a second, trying to form a fully coherent thought. “I just have a lot going on right now, I shouldn’t have said yes to tonight, that wasn’t fair to you, not with where my head is right now. I’m really sorry, Adam.”

Ruzek nods his head, smiling softly. “It’s cause of him, right?” He asks. Gabby’s brown eyes meeting his as confusion fills her features. “Matt. Casey.” He clarifies.

Gabby shakes her head, a question clearly on her lips that he is answering before she can fully get out. 

“How did you-...”

“Oh come on, the whole damn school sees you two together. You really think half the student body wouldn’t be asking you out if we honestly thought for a second we stood a chance?” He asks, Gabby looking down at her lap as her cheeks tinted pink, Adam laughing lightly at her reaction. For as coy as she tried to be, it was well known half the school had a crush on the short brunette. “It’s obvious, you two. Hell, I was surprised you said yes, to begin with, you know how many times I asked around if you were dating anyone before I decided to shoot my shot today?” He jokes lightly, Gabby happy for the lightness of the conversation. 

Shaking her head she tucks her bottom lip in between her teeth before finding her next words. 

“Casey and I… We really are just friends.” She tells him, more for her own memory than his. 

Adam simply nodding, “I know.” He says softly. 

Gabby nods, after another beat of silence she grabs her purse that was sitting on the floorboard. 

“Thank you, again, Adam. I really did have fun tonight… I’m sorry for, well, for everything.” She says sincerely, receiving a gentle smile back. 

“No apology needed Gabs. I had fun too. I’m still happy we did this.” 

“Night Adam.” 

Reaching for the door Gabby goes to step out but doesn’t make it far, his next words stopping her as she stands. 

“Gabby… Listen, I know it’s none of my business… but just so you know, if Casey can’t see what is right in front of him, then he is an idiot.” He tells her. 

Gabby bites down on her bottom lip, smirking softly. 

“Thank you.” 

With one final wave goodbye, she is stepping out of the car and heading up the sidewalk, Adam pulling away once she reaches her porch. Gabby tucks her coat tighter around her to fight off the slight chill in the air as she grabs her key from her purse. 

“Damn, it’s about time you get home, I was starting to freeze out here.” Gabby nearly jumps out of her skin, her hand flying to her heart as she looks to her left, Shay sitting on her front porch swing with a large smile filling her face, clearly impressed with herself for having given Dawson a heart attack. 

“Jesus Christ, Shay. What are you doing here?” 

The blonde simply shrugs, Gabby pocketing her key once more as she walks over and takes a seat next to her. “I just wanted to come and check on you. It seems like it’s been ages since just the two of us hung out.” She comments, a twinge of guilt flooding Gabby at the truth behind her words. Between Stella joining their school and all the time she had been spending with Matt, she really had been neglecting her blonde best friend. 

“I’m sorry, Shay.” She says softly, but before she can continue the blonde is cutting her off. 

“Don’t sweat it, I didn’t say it to make you feel guilty, Gabs.” She says sincerely, resting her hand on her friend’s arm. “I really did just want to check on you… you’ve had a lot going on lately.” 

Gabby sighs softly, simply nodding at her friend’s words, knowing just how true they really were. She feels like time has been simultaneously standing still and moving at warp speed since the school year started. In just a few short months so much had already happened and Gabby had barely had a chance to breathe. Between everything with Stella, then Kelly, and especially everything with Matt… her life has been a mess. Her thoughts a jumble of constant anxiety and worry along with running herself into the ground with school work and cheer. She shouldn’t be surprised that Shay noticed and was checking in on her. The blonde knowing better than most how Gabby was capable of shutting down and dealing with things alone when they got tough, how she would shy away from those closest to her, and check herself out of her own feelings to focus on everyone else’s. 

“...so, how was the big  _ date _ ?” Shay questions, pulling Gabby from her thoughts. The brunette simply shrugging. If that wasn’t enough to pique Shay’s interest, then Gabby tucking her lip between her teeth a second later would have, the nervous habit one Shay knew well. “What happened, Gabs?”

Shay watches as Dawson continues to bite fiercely on her bottom lip, her hands starting to shake, Shay immediately filling with worry as she watches tears cloud her brown eyes. “Hey, hey, what’s going on? Did something happen with Adam?” 

Gabby shakes her head, laughing lightly, though it comes out chocked with the tears that she was trying to hold back. “No, no… it’s not him, it’s just…”

Shay sighs softly as realization sets in. “Matt.” She says simply, Gabby nodding as she wipes at the tears that threaten to escape. Shaking her head Leslie leans in closer, pulling Gabby into her side, the brunette relaxing into her as she sniffles. 

“I really thought if I just put myself out there again it would all go away. Everything I was feeling.” She says softly, “...but it didn’t, and I don’t know that it ever will.” 

The blonde runs a soothing hand up and down her arm that was wrapped around her. “Honey, why don’t you just talk to him. I really think-...”

“I can’t, Shay.” Gabby cuts off quickly, shaking her head against her shoulder. “Not with…” Sighing softly Gabby cuts herself off. “I just can’t.” She settles on, leaving Shay no less confused, but she simply nods, knowing better than to fight her friend on this. The feelings she harbored for the blond boy running deep and ones that had been there for as long as Shay had known her. Long before this school year. Gabby’s unwillingness to expose those feelings something that had always been a disagreement between the two. 

“Okay.” Shay finally says, keeping up the soothing pattern on her arm. After a long beat of silence, Gabby is finally speaking again. 

“I love him, Shay.” She says softly, her voice almost pained. 

Shay’s eyes fall closed, the words she had known to be true for years now, even if it was just the first time Gabby was admitting them out loud to her. She rests her hand on the side of Gabby’s head, cradling her closer. 

“I know, honey… I know.” She whispers. 

Shay doing everything she could to bring her friend some comfort, hoping for the day that her two friends could finally take the leap and express their feelings for one another. Shay knowing the day that finally happened the two of them would finally find peace. 

  
  
  
  



	14. chapter fourteen

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The two of them dance along with their friends, their heads thrown back in laughter, both of them feeling on top of the world being in the others embrace. 
> 
> At this point, Stella is so far gone from the world that if he weren’t holding her, Kelly is sure she’d float off into the crowd. Speaking of, he sees a familiar blonde head rising above the others and makes his way over with a tight grip on the brunette’s hand. The sight of Dawson and Matt dancing together brings a smile to his lips. He had never seen two people so completely in tune with each other, especially at their age. They move as one, but what else is new? 
> 
> or
> 
> it’s homecoming!!!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> WE HAVE RETURNED!!! i know this particular break was hella long and i’m sorry about that. but honestly between work and school and illness september was a hell of a month so not a lot of writing got done. and it’s super important to shelby and i that we always stay at least a couple of chapters ahead so we don’t lose sight of where the story is going. and stay tuned, you’ll be rewarded for your troubles pretty soon. anyway, it’s HOMECOMING! this is a super fun chapter and i hope you all enjoy. as always, this same fic will be posted on FF under shelby's username @/peytfan4ever. thanks so much for reading <3 (my twitter is @/annasrae and shelby's is @/shelbersmarie_ if anyone wants to reach out!)

Gabby pushes her hair behind her ear as she looks into the mirror on her locker door, making any attempt to calm down her unruly curls. Shaking her head she looks back into her backpack for a scrunchy, ultimately deciding this to be her best course of action. 

She slips the scrunchy on her wrist before hanging her backpack up and grabbing for her English book, tucking it under her arm she goes to close her locker door but pauses, jumping slightly as her eyes lock with blue ones through her mirror. A smile soon filling her face as she quickly realizes who it is, the blue eyes she knew by heart a dead give away. 

“Matt, hey.” She turns around slowly, meeting his timid smile. 

The two of them having not spent as much time together over the weekend as they normally would, Gabby well aware it likely had to do with the date Matt had overheard her making on Friday afternoon. While they had text regularly throughout Saturday and Sunday, they made no mention of her date, the two of them carrying on with their normal conversation, but it was not lost on her that Matt had spent at least one day of the weekend with her for nearly two months now. The two of them becoming inseparable since the school year began, but even more so over the past few months. She would be lying if she said she had not missed him the past couple of days. 

“Hey, Gabs.” He says softly, matching her own smile. She watches as he shifts nervously, and her brow quirks up in interest. “How was your weekend?” He finally asks and she bites back a smirk at how clearly uncomfortable he was right now. 

“It was fine. Nothing much… My dad asked where you were though.” She laughs lightly, “I think he missed his hockey buddy.” She jokes. 

Matt smirks, “Well, I did miss Ramon too.” He jokes back, earning an unimpressed look from the short brunette as she scoffs at his words. A beat of silence passes between them and Matt finally asks the question that had been on the tip of his tongue since he saw her. “So, uh… how was your date?” 

He tries his best to ask casually, but he is fighting off his own eye-roll at the way it comes out, already regretting the question and ready to take it back when Gabby shrugs.

“It was fine. Nothing special.” She says simply. 

Matt’s eyes widen, and he swallows thickly, trying to calm the hope that floods his system. “Oh?” He questions, unable to form any other coherent thought. 

Gabby nods, shrugging once more. “I mean, Adam is great, but we are better as friends.” She continues. Matt nodding along at her words, biting back the smile that so desperately wants to come through. His mind had been left racing all weekend, fully anticipating to see Gabby today and have her telling him she had a new boyfriend, his worst fear. The relief that is coursing through him at her words being the exact opposite is one he can’t quite comprehend. 

“I, uh, I’m sorry Gabby.” He finally responds. 

She is quickly shaking her head, “It’s fine. Really, I’m good, Casey.” She tells him, the two of them sharing a quick smile as they lean up against the lockers. “So, how are you feeling? Big Homecoming game on Friday, hotshot.” She teases, a full-blown grin filling Matt’s features. 

“I’m ready. First homecoming as starting quarterback and we are going to be kicking South Central's ass on Friday night.” He gloats, Gabby matching his grin. 

“Well, you better. You know, my whole job on Friday night’s being good or bad completely rides on your shoulders.” She tells him, her face serious, “No pressure.” She finishes, sending him a wink. 

Matt runs his tongue along his teeth, smirking as he shakes his head. “Good to know you will be holding every loss this season against me.” He jokes back. 

Shrugging Gabby smiles, “Sorry, Case. I mean, if you keep it up like you have been then we should be good.”

Casey shakes his head at her antics, “Well then if for no other reason then to make your job easier, I will do my best to win it for you, Ms. Dawson.” 

The brunette struggles to bite back a smirk, the two of them grinning brightly at each other as a beat of silence passes between them. 

Matt shifts nervously as he works up the nerve to ask her something he had planned to ask her last Friday, but the news of her date had stopped him. He had given up hope over the weekend, but Gabby’s words this morning had given him the confidence once more. 

“So, uh... I was thinking… or wondering, really…” Gabby raises a brow as she watches him struggle to get out his words, shifting nervously on his feet. “I uh, was wondering if you’d want to wear my jersey on Friday?” He finally questions. 

Gabby does her best to hide the near giddiness that courses through her. The cheerleaders wearing the guys' away jerseys for homecoming is a long-standing tradition. The guys normally ask the cheerleaders to wear theirs as a sign of support throughout the homecoming activities on Friday, as well as during the game. She’d be lying if she said she hadn’t been hoping Matt would ask her. 

Matt’s eyes widen as he watches her stand there, unsure of where her head is at until she is smiling brightly, tucking a loose strand of hair behind her ear before she finds her words. “Yeah, uh. Yes. Of course.” She finally stutters out, taking a calming breath before she continues. “I’d love to, Matt.” 

He doesn’t bother to hide his growing smile as he nods. “Great.” He settles on the two of them sharing one more smile before the bell is ringing and they are walking to their first class together. Both of them riding on a newfound high. 

Stella and Kelly walk into the lunchroom with their hands linked, laughing about the science class they had just shared, both of them teasing each other to no end about the many mess-ups they’d had while trying to do dissections.

“Make room for the lovebirds!” Shay shouts as they approach. 

“Oh please.”

“Shut it.”

The couple speaks in unison, bringing light laughter to the table. Stella and Kelly both taking a seat at the table. They are the last to arrive and stay in their own world a little longer before joining the conversation.

“Okay, important question,” Stella says to the group. They all look at her attentively. “What exactly is... _ homecoming _ ?” Her voice trails off towards the end of her query, as everyone’s eyes collectively widen.

“Please tell me you’re kidding,” Shay responds.

Stella opens her mouth.

“You’ve never been to homecoming?” Casey asks curiously.

“Well-” she starts.

“How is that possible?” Kelly questions her.

“I didn’t realize…” Gabby says with newfound clarity.

Stella laughs at the confusion she’s caused.

“Lakewood is an all-girls school. Which means no football team. Which means-“

“No homecoming,” April finishes, connecting the dots.

An “Ohhhh” resounds throughout the table.

“Lakewood?” Matt whispers to Gabby. As the only one unaware of Stella’s past incident, he’d never heard the name.

“El’s old school. Real shithole.” She answers with a twinge of annoyance toward the school that had given her best friend so many bad memories.

“Got it.”

“So besides some football game, what is it?” Stella asks again.

“Well first off it’s not  _ some _ football game.” Kelly begins, slightly offended.

“It’s one of the biggest games of the year.” Gabby finishes.

“This year we’re going up against the Warriors.” Kelly taps the table rapidly in anticipation of the night.

“Are they any good?”

“Any good? They’re insane. One of the best high school teams in the  _ state _ .” Gabby says, revved up as well.

“We can take ‘em though,” he adds.

“I never said you couldn’t.” Dawson offers a smile to him, and for the first time in a long time, she sees the old Kelly in the way his eyes light up. The one she called a best friend. The one she’s missed more than she cares to admit. 

A moment passes as she realizes this, and Kelly hopes he’s interpreting her face correctly. Finally, they’re making progress.

“I think I liked it better when you two hated each other.” Shay’s face is serious when she says this but her tone is light. The sincerity of the moment is certainly not lost on her. Kelly and Gabby both roll their eyes at their blonde best friend.

“Les.” April rolls her eyes. Shay simply shrugs. “It’s really fun to cheer for too, Stella, the energy from the crowd makes it really exciting.”

“Sounds fun!”

“Oh, that’s not all,” Casey mentions.

“No?”

“God no. One of the best parties of the entire year is on homecoming night,” Gabby continues his statement.

“ _ After  _ the game?” Stella questions incredulously. “Isn’t everyone tired?”

“Are you kidding? That’s when the fun really starts.” Shay smiles widely, clearly reliving some great memories.

“I’m assuming I don’t have a choice in attending this party?”

“Absolutely not.” Dawson and Severide say at the same time, earning a laugh from everyone.

“How nice do I have to dress?” Stella whines, already dreading forcing herself into another tight skirt after her cheer one.

“Actually most of the cheerleaders wear a jersey from one of the guys,” April explains, her girlfriend rolling her eyes this time around.

“A disgustingly heteronormative tradition if you ask me.”

“Good thing no one did.” Before Shay can fire back, Kelly continues. “I was, uh, I was gonna ask if you wanted to wear mine?” 

He turns to where Stella sits beside him, nervousness tainting his voice. She puts her hand over his, stopping him from cracking another knuckle in nerves.

“I’d love to.”

Severide smiles brightly, both with excitement and at the way Stella scrunches her nose at him. It’s so cute he can’t help but peck her on the lips.

Leslie makes an obnoxiously loud gagging noise. 

April, seeing an opportunity she can’t possibly pass up, uses two fingers of her left hand to turn Shay’s chin towards her and copies Kelly’s actions. Of course this time a far different reaction occurs. The blonde visibly melts the second they connect and deflates when they disconnect moments later.

April smirks.

“You’re gonna pay for that.” The tomato red tinting Leslie’s cheeks soften the effect of her words.

Before the brunette can dish out a response embarrassing them both Shay speaks again, desperately needing to divert the attention off of herself.

“Well Dawson, now I gotta know.”

Gabby raises her eyebrows curiously, tuning back in after completely checking out from the lovebirds sitting on the other side of the bench from her and Matt.

“Which football player begged at your feet for you to wear their jersey now that Jay no longer has the privilege?” She watches with satisfaction as her best friend gets slightly flustered, already having anticipated the answer to her question.

“I’m wearing Matt’s jersey this year,” she answers briskly and looks over at the boy in question in hopes it was fine to mention. His soft smile and the pride behind his crystal eyes is all the answer she needs.

And when Stella kicks her shin under the table with concealed joy for her and Shay snickers at her expense, she barely notices, too wrapped up in the blond boy beside her and the soft smile on his face that was reserved for only her.She’s been trying her absolute best to hate it, or at least dislike it a little bit, yet Stella stands in the mirror absolutely obsessed with the way she looks. The quick spin she does reveals the large, shining, navy blue 23 on the back of her boyfriend’s jersey. Unbridled giddiness races through her system at an almost scary pace. She’d never pegged herself as possessive, or even really jealous, but there’s something about being able to silently flaunt that her boyfriend is a star football player that’s quite alluring to the young girl. It’s really just a warm manifestation of pride for him. And if she makes a couple of girls wish they were her, then so be it. She bites her lip and that fluttery feeling makes its way through her chest once more. Suddenly the urge to wear this top for the rest of her life becomes overwhelming.

It had taken three intense washes to return the jersey to its original pearly white color. Despite Kelly’s best intentions, even the most deep-set grass, sweat, blood, and dirt stains eventually came out. He’d complained about this over FaceTime last night, claiming the grime brought him his constant success. But after a bit of welcome praise towards his “natural athletic prowess” from his girlfriend, Severide conceded. She’d put an insane amount of elbow grease and enough detergent and fabric softener to completely launder a decently sized wardrobe into the process, and it had truly paid off. 

She throws her head dramatically over her shoulder, back still turned to the mirror, and grins with satisfaction when her ponytail bounces high in response.

“You’ve never looked better,” she comments, blowing her reflection a kiss.

“You know they can send you away for that.”

The brunette in the doorway barely gets a flinch from her friend despite her sudden joke about the extremely common habit Stella has of talking to herself. Both of them are well accustomed to visits without prior announcement, especially on school mornings.

“You’re late,” is Stella’s only reply.

“You’re vain,” Gabby shoots back with a smirk.

“I think the word you’re looking for is hot.”

She scoffs, refusing to give in to the undoubtedly true suggestion.

“Nah, I don’t think so.”

Kidd rolls her eyes. “Fine, then I’ll simply keep my opinions on you wearing Casey’s jersey to myself. 

Dawson considers this. “That’d be great, actually, thanks!”

She’d been  _ very _ pleasantly surprised at the aforementioned boy’s earlier request. Of course, she’d secretly been hoping to be able to walk around school with Matt Casey’s number on her back, but considering she has no idea where he really stands with her, the likelihood of that fantasy becoming a reality had seemed incredibly slim. Yet here she is somehow both one step closer and farther from being exactly who she wants to be to Matt. Even so, so much of their relationship is unclear that something as concrete as wearing his jersey feels like a breath of fresh air. A tiny spark of hope she’s still deciding if she should accept. It’s undeniable, though, that Gabby feels on top of the world wearing the very item of clothing she’d spent countless moments stealing glances at. 

“And I’ll keep my eyeliner too.” Stella snaps her out of her thoughts.

“Hey! Not fair.”

The taller girl giggles and squints at her, initiating a challenge before darting to her bathroom. Gabby catches on quickly but the longer legs win and the overpriced Estée Lauder liner is being held high in the air.

She reaches up as high as she can and even jumps once, but to no avail, Stella watches on in amusement. With crossed arms and a hand on her hip, Dawson waits.

“You’re being a brat.” She pouts.

Stella shrugs, unbothered.

“We’re gonna be late,” Gabby speaks again.

“Not if you admit it.” Stella smiles knowingly.

“Admit what?”

“That you did the same thing I just did in the mirror before you left your house. That you’re excited to wear Casey’s jersey in front of the entire school today.”

“Never in a  _ million-” _

“I wonder if tardy cheerleaders are allowed to cheer at football games,” she ponders aloud, arm still in the air. “I mean, I assume they’d make some exception for homecoming, right? Or maybe that makes the rules even stricter.”

The shorter girl groans loudly, somehow just annoyed enough to fall victim to the trivial mind games. 

“Fine.”

“Fine?”

“Fine, I internally screamed when Matt asked me to wear his jersey and I may or may not have been envisioning that moment since freshman year and it’s  _ possible _ that I am definitely looking forward to rubbing it in everyone’s face that he chose me over every other girl at school. I suppose someone could also assume that I performed the entirety of tonight’s halftime routine in my mirror this morning just so I could see how amazing I’ll look tonight with Matt Casey’s number on my back. Happy?”

Stella’s smile is impossibly wide. 

“Ecstatic.”

She hands over the small tube with satisfaction. 

“Evil,” Gabby mumbles under her breath as she moves in front of the mirror.

“Save the sweet talk for Matt.” Stella laughs loudly at her own genius before bolting out of the bathroom to avoid objects flying at her head.

Matt continuously taps his pencil against the paper in front of him, staring down at the stark white sheet of paper with disdain as he tries to think of what to write down. 

“You know you can stare at it all you want, but that paragraph isn’t going to write itself.” Gabby’s soft teasing voice pulls his attention and he looks up with a smirk, finding her head still cast down as she reads from her English book. 

The two friends sitting together at the far back table after setting up camp in the library for their 5th-period study hall that they had together. Matt shakes his head at her words, scoffing lightly before looking back down at the paper in front of him, still unsure what he was wanting to write. After another few beats of silence where no new thoughts come to mind on his assignment, he is looking back up, his eyes falling on the girl beside him. 

Matt can’t help but get lost in her. Her hair was down and straight, her makeup already done up for the game tonight, a sparkly blue and gold tattoo resting proudly on her cheek with the school's name and mascot. Her lip tucked between her teeth as she concentrates on the words in front of her. The two of them had spent most of the week joined at the hip, both enjoying all the fun homecoming festivities that went on at Lincoln Park in the lead up to their big game tonight, more often than not teaming up during the activities that were going on. Gabby nearly jumped for joy this afternoon when they won the junior classes water balloon toss together, winning the class a free pizza lunch, and while it may not have seemed like much it was well worth it to see the megawatt smile that had filled her features. 

He pushes that from his thoughts and keeps his stare locked on her, taking in the sight of her with his jersey covering her upper body, the large material practically hanging off her as she tucked the ends into her cheer skirt. His number proudly displayed on her chest bringing an intense warmth to him that he would never tire of. He can’t help but think about how he could get used to this site. Or stop himself from thinking about how she would look in all of his clothes. 

“Dammit.” Matt snaps himself out of his thoughts, looking back up to see Gabby staring at her cell phone, his brows furrow. 

“What’s up?” 

“Shay’s sister can’t drop us all off at the party tonight. Something came up.” She tells him, barely taking her eyes off her phone as she starts to type out a reply. Matt’s brows only cross further as he shakes his head. 

“Gabby, I can drive us all, instead.” He quickly tells her, her typing stopping as she meets his blue eyes, uncertainty in her stare. “Really, I don’t mind, Gabs. I didn’t plan on drinking anyways.” 

Gabby hesitates a moment longer, ensuring there is no deception in his words. “You sure?” 

Matt nods, offering her a relaxing smile. “A hundred percent. Tell Shay I’m driving.” He urges. 

The brunette flashes him one last warm smile before typing out a quick reply and setting her phone back down the two of them settling back into their work… but there is something on Gabby’s mind, something stopping her from letting Matt’s words go. 

Her mind is suddenly full of thoughts from the last party they all attended. Her fight with Matt. His comments about not drinking. It wasn’t something she had thought more on back then, in fact, it wasn’t something she had thought any more of the situation since it happened, but now she can’t get it out of her head. Matt’s insistence that he didn’t drink, the way he snapped at her, the way he closed himself off when she tried to talk to him… it hadn’t made sense then, but suddenly it is all clicking in her head. All the puzzle pieces lining up as realization settles over her, making her heart heavy. 

“He’s why…” she says suddenly, her voice quiet. Matt looks up from the paper he had finally started writing on, giving her a confused look.

“What?” 

“Your dad.” She says softly, emotions already clouding her voice as she thinks about it more, the ache in her chest only deepening “He’s why you don’t drink.” She states her words more a statement than a question at this point.

Her words hit him like a freight train and Matt looks down, avoiding her gaze before he nods gently, his eyes still trained on the paper in front of him for a few moments before he finally meets her glassy eyes. 

“Yeah.” He finally tells her, “Alcoholics, they normally run in a family, and I…” Matt stops, emotion clouding his own voice as he swallows thickly. “...that’s not something I ever want to chance.” He says, his voice carrying the same emotions that are displayed across Gabby’s face. 

“I never want to be him,” Matt continues, his words leaving her breathless as more tears filled her eyes. The pain that he tried so desperately to never show shining through in these quiet moments, the same as it had many times in the last few weeks, every single time it did breaking her in two. 

She pushes the lump building in her throat down as she reaches out, squeezing his hand in hers, his blue eyes boring into her. 

“You’ll never be him, Matt… you are  _ nothing _ like him.” She forces out, her voice shaking with emotions she has tried to not let come out, but to no avail are there. 

Matt smiles softly, squeezing her hand, but not offering anything back, her words enough for him as they both go back to their homework, letting the silence fill the space around them as it always did when they were together, the comfort the other offered just by being there more than enough for them. 

Gabby sends Stella a bright grin as her eyes fall over the cheerleader standing next to her, the girl’s hands resting proudly on their hips as they stand in formation. The final seconds of the game ticking by, though the game was already over, and had been for some time now. The Lincoln Park Lions gained the lead in the first quarter and never gave it up. Matt Casey most definitely kept his word on giving Dawson an easy night. The boys in perfect form tonight making the cheerleaders work a lot of fun. 

Dawson nods her head to Stella, the two turning around in sync as the rest of the girls follow. Gabby leads them in one final cheer as the clock winds down to zero. The Lion’s winning with a 45 to 14 lead over the South Central Warriors. 

The sidelines erupt in chaos as the game ends, the entirety of the crowd cheering wildly as the homecoming game completes. Half the students in the crowd rushing off to finish getting ready for the homecoming dance that started in just an hour while the other half rushed off in the other direction. The ones that would be skipping the dance to attend the annual homecoming party. 

Stella and Gabby head for their cheer bags tucked up against the front of the sidelines, both of them shouldering their bags before heading down the track to the opening of the football field. 

“So, first homecoming week everything you thought it would be, El?” Gabby says lightly, looking to her best friend whose smile had yet to leave her face. 

Stella nods enthusiastically. “Yes! God, you and Kelly made it sound like it was just some regular old football game. Not all of  _ this _ .” She emphasizes. Looking around at the done up football field that practically puked school spirit. 

Gabby laughs lightly, her reply cut off when she and Stella come to an abrupt halt as the football team jogs back to the locker rooms in front of them. Their eyes falling immediately on their boys as they pass by. Kelly shoots his girlfriend a smug wink while Matt and Gabby both share bright smiles. 

Dawson looks to her best friend as the group moves away, finding Stella’s eyes still trained on their retreating forms. She rolls her eyes, linking her arm through her friends and forcing her to walk. 

“Put your tongue back in your mouth, we have a party to get to.” She jokes, Stella’s cheeks turning a bright red as she ducks her head. 

“Please, as if you have any room to talk.” Kidd throws back, as they head off towards their own locker room to freshen up and wait for the guys.

Bass reverberates from the pavement of the Halsteads’ driveway as the group pulls up in their cars. Strobe lights shine out into the street from the several large windows. People spill out from the side door, and it can only be assumed that the high-pitched screams barely heard over the music are a result of people being pushed into the pool in the back. The energy is vibrant, and everyone looks on in excitement, even Stella as Kelly reaches for her hand blindly. 

Gabby walks up first, strutting confidently into the house. Matt of course follows closely behind, and then April and Shay followed by Kelly and Stella.

Not even ten minutes later most of the group floats freely through the large home with alcohol and excitement burning in their veins. The rush from the game had carried on into the party, as the house is filled to the brim with wild teenagers alive with untapped glee. 

Severide’s hand rests on his girlfriend’s lower back as they roam. 

“Y’know I didn’t realize how huge this house is the last time we were here,” she comments.

“Oh yeah, the Halsteads are  _ loaded _ . Like doctor-rich.”

“No wonder they’re...the way they are. No offense.”

Kelly chuckles. “None taken. They’re not really my people anymore.”

As usual, he says it with ease and Stella is left with the heavy warmth at his words.

“You drinking tonight?” he asks.

“Yeah, I deserve it.” A small sense of pride fills her voice. For once, she’s letting herself feel like a real teenager. The pressures from school, from others, from herself mainly, have been lifted temporarily as she rides the wave of carelessness. In this sea of people, she is invisible in the best way possible. As simplistic as it may sound, she is having fun. A rarity for the often anxious and overwhelmed teen. 

They make their way to the keg where Kelly pours his own beer and Stella finds herself holding a cup of a nearly bright blue liquid. She stares inquisitively.

“And this is…” 

“Try it!” Kelly suggests with an innocent smile. Knowing full well there are few things she can say no to when he asks her that way, Stella takes a hesitant sip.

Her eyes widened with joy and surprise. 

“Holy shit this is delicious. How have I never had this before? Why haven’t you given this to me?” She takes a much larger swig and sighs with satisfaction at the slight burn countered by the sickeningly sweet flavor.

He raises his eyebrows in response, taking in her excited reaction.

“Sorry?”

“Yeah, you should be. Let’s dance!” She takes his free hand and leads him back into the larger crowd after filling her cup once more. He follows without question. Kelly can tell Stella is emboldened even before the drink has its proper effect. This liberation, this unbridled gladness that radiates from Stella is infectious and he wants to foster it as best as he can. 

The nearly deafening music fades into the background as the two of them move together. Her arms hang loosely around his neck as she shakes her head along to the beat, shiny curls bouncing up and down with every movement. She’d released her hair from its high ponytail the moment they’d left the school, and now it falls freely. Stella smiles widely at the boy in front of her as she breathes him. His strong arms wrapped around her waist only motivates her next move. 

Leaning in without any hesitation for what may very well be the first time in their relationship, she connects her lips to Kelly’s. When he kisses back her free hand slides to the back of his hand. Intoxicating doesn’t even begin to describe it. Body movements become lip ones as the couple practically stills. Feeling all boundaries slip away, Stella breaks it off with the excuse of downing more of her drink. Within moments, though, the nearly full cup is bone dry and provides the exact opposite of the intended effect.

“Slow down baby,” Kelly comments with concern as she tosses the cup into a nearby trash can.

To which Stella quirks an eyebrow and thinks a moment before leaning into his ear and whispering, “Make me.”

And then the magnetic pull between them grows tenfold and all Stella can process is the faint taste of beer on his tongue. Well, that and his fingers splayed out on her back. Automatically the space between them vanishes as moans are lost in the outside noise. 

If there is anything left of Stella’s self-awareness it disappears at the feeling of her hips pushed into his. Her skin burns everywhere they touch. And suddenly, there’s a shift in intensity as the kiss turns hungry. Her grip on him grows tighter as her seemingly nonexistent inhibitions depart with every moment. Kelly senses this and pulls away slowly.

“Not here. Not like this,” he mumbles. 

Stella has no idea why he’s saying the words he is, and to be frank she doesn’t understand a lot of them. But “not” makes it through to her, and she knows to relax. 

“More?” she asks, her eyes barely open as the music makes it way through her bones.

“Hm?”

“Drink!” she exclaims and then jumps at her own loudness. “More drink,” she continues in a whisper.

“Absolutely not.” Kelly laughs, shaking his head at her antics; their intense moment fading away as she pouts and he offers a kiss on the cheek in response, earning a warm smile back from his girlfriend before she is tucking herself into his side, Severide accepting the action with a happy smile and another kiss to the top of her head.

Gabby smirks wildly as she watches Shay and April dance, the two girls having no care in the world as they move together provocatively. Gabby shakes her head, leaning further back into the counter that she rested up against, taking a sip out of the water bottle she had in her hand. 

“Well, they are definitely… enjoying themselves.” Matt breathes out, his brows raised to his hairline as he watches their friends practically reenact _Dirty_ _Dancing_ in the middle of the makeshift dance floor. 

Gabby laughs loudly, nodding in agreement at his words. 

“Surprised you are not out there, showing off those famous Dawson moves.” He jokes lightly. 

The brunette sending him a playful glare. “Watch it, Casey.” 

“Dawson!” Gabby’s head snaps up, finding a group of the football players as well as a few of the cheerleaders standing around the table that had become the bar, pouring what looked to be a dozen shots. Gabby raises her brow in acknowledgment, “Come have a shot!” Lyla calls her over. 

Gabby shakes her head, waving her off, and Matt looks at her curiously. “You can go, Gabs. I’ll be fine on my own.” He tells her, not wanting his lack of drinking to bring her own down. The two of them not separating since walking through the front door. Mostly hanging back in their own little world as they talked and watched their friends enjoy themselves. 

Warm brown eyes meet his and he watches as she shrugs. Taking another sip of her water before meeting his stare once more. “I know.” She says simply. “But I’m good right here.” The gentle smile that fills her lips has his heart rate picking up as warmth spreads through him. His own smile matching hers as he nods. 

Despite wanting Gabby to enjoy herself, he would never complain about having her at his side. 

“Hey! You two!” The brunette pulls her eyes away from the crystal blues she had been getting lost in to find Shay and April’s attention directed on them. Gabby simply raises her brow at the two of them, an amused expression filling her features as she watches them hang on one another. 

“Come dance!” Shay hollers. Gabby smirks, sharing a look with Casey, the blond football player looking less than impressed. Despite the very different situation she had felt the last time they were at a party dancing when she had been tipsy and feeling bold, this time when she grabs his hand and pulls him toward the dance floor with a bright smile on her face there is a comfort between them that was never there before. The two of them falling in sync with each other in a way that only comes from the bond they had built up stronger in the last few months. 

The two of them dance along with their friends, their heads thrown back in laughter, both of them feeling on top of the world being in the others embrace. 

At this point, Stella is so far gone from the world that if he weren’t holding her, Kelly is sure she’d float off into the crowd. Speaking of, he sees a familiar blonde head rising above the others and makes his way over with a tight grip on the brunette’s hand. The sight of Dawson and Matt dancing together brings a smile to his lips. He had never seen two people so completely in tune with each other, especially at their age. They move as one, but what else is new? 

They approach the pair, Stella greeting Gabby with an enthusiastic, “Hi Ella!”

“Hey there.” She detaches from Matt momentarily to get a closer look at her friend. Her cheeks are tinted red and a permanent smile lays on her face as she giggles at nothing in particular. “You been drinking, babe?” she asks rhetorically with a laugh. 

Stella shakes her head dismissively. “Not many. Just a little of that pretty blue one!”

“Really?”

“Gabby it tastes like...like...what is it called?”

She raises her eyebrows.

“Good! It tastes good.” Stella nods to herself, satisfied. 

“Ah, I see.” She directs her attention to Kelly. “You gave her-”

“Had no idea she would love it this much. Don’t worry she’s been with me the whole time.”

“I figured.” 

Even though he’ll likely never admit it, the phrase warms Kelly’s heart. Her faith in him had increased so much; he just hopes it lasts. With this in mind, he pulls Stella’s closer and whispers something in her ear. Gabby and Matt look at each other in confusion. But then, she nods excitedly at Kelly and he turns to Casey.

“Can I steal her for a minute?” he asks, gesturing to Gabby.

Matt doesn’t hide the look of shock on his face at that. But the brunette in his arms offers him a smile of assurance before looking at Kelly. He passes Stella to Matt with a look very clearly saying  _ take care of her _ . Casey nods and even lets out a chuckle when she says,

“Matt! I haven’t seen you in  _ forever _ . Have you had some blue?!”

Gabby smiles up at Kelly.

“So what is this eighth grade all over again?” She moves to the music easily and shifts a bit closer to help the awkwardly wide gap.

“Very funny. I hope I’m at least smoother than I was then.” He returns the action. 

“Oh definitely. Middle school Kelly was just figuring girls out. He was terrified when he asked me to dance. Nothing like how  _ suave _ you are now,” she jokes.

“He was a lot nicer though, huh?” he prompts.

She shrugs.

“We’ve all changed. It’s high school,” she says after a moment of thought.

“That’s-”

“I mean not all of us became insufferable cocky asshats but…”

“Ah, so close.”

She laughs loudly.

“I’m joking. Kinda.”

“Uh huh.”

“I did miss you, Kelly, more than I realized,” she admits with hesitation.

“Me too. Speaking of, I was wondering if we could maybe hang out? Some time? Just me and you, like we used to.” His palms are sweaty as he sputters out the request that had been at the back of his mind. 

Gabby’s jaw drops as she feigns shock. 

“Kelly Severide, you are a taken man! With my best friend might I add.” She grins.

“Shut up. You know what I mean. We used to hang out all the time back then. But if you don’t want to yet I get it. I know you need time-”

“Eh, I might as well. I mean you’ve become so pitiful without me.”

He rolls his eyes.

“Yeah Kel, I’m down.”

He smiles and pulls her into a hug. “Thanks, Dawson.”   
  


“Alright don’t get all sappy on me.”

They laugh together, both excited to strengthen their newfound friendship. The two of them separating and sharing soft smiles before they are heading back to their group of friends. Stella’s quickly finding her way back into her boyfriend’s arms while Gabby finds her way back to the blond man, the two of them molding together like puzzle pieces. 

Matt raises his brow as his hands come to rest on her hips, their eyes meeting. “You good?” 

Gabby nods, a smile resting on her face as she looks around at her friends, Shay and April snuggled together next to them and Stella and Kelly resting comfortably in each other’s arms before looking back up into the blue eyes she could so easily get lost in. 

“I’m perfect.”

Stella lifts her head off her boyfriend's shoulder as the vehicle comes to a halt, looking around the familiar neighborhood through hazy eyes as she sits up, Kelly’s hand on her lower back helping guide her tipsy movements. 

The two of them shuffle from the back seat while Gabby pulls herself from the passenger seat, Matt cutting the engine of Stella’s black Jeep before stepping out and locking the vehicle. 

“We’re home? Already?” Stella asks. Severide and Dawson sharing an amused smirk at her tired and slurred words. 

“No, El, we’re at Disneyland.” Gabby throws back. 

“We are!?” Stella practically yells, looking up quickly, and stumbling, Kelly’s arms securely around her the only thing stopping her from falling. 

The three of them chuckle at her expense, Gabby rolling her eyes. “Sure, El.” 

The long-haired girl sighs, “I’m ready for bed.” She murmurs softly.

Kelly nods, his eyes moving to Dawson hesitantly. “Uh, do you?” He starts, looking up to Stella’s house before meeting her eyes once more, vivid memories of the last party they went to swirling through his mind, Gabby practically ripping Stella from his arms to bring her home, not wanting him anywhere near her best friend. While Kelly knew a lot had changed since that party, he still was hesitant about overstepping when it came to the two of them and their close friendship. 

Gabby shakes her head, “You’re good, Kel.” She says softly, the two of them sharing gentle smiles. “Her dad’s out of town this weekend so you won't be met with any shotguns.” She jokes. “Just get her home safe please.”

Kelly nods, adjusting his grip on the tired girl tucked against his side. “Always,” he reassures, Matt passing the keys off to Kelly as they all exchange goodbyes, Kelly leading Stella up her pathway to the front door. 

Dawson chuckles lightly as she hears her best friend's tired voice before the couple heads inside. “So, I guess homecoming  _ is _ kind of fun.” 

The brunette moves her eyes back to the boy next to her. “You crashing tonight or heading home?” She asks, nodding up to her own home. Matt passing out on their couch not becoming anything out of the normal lately. Whether it was on accident, or on purpose, the Dawson’s home easily becoming his second home, Ramon and Camilia always more than happy to let him stay. 

“I’m gonna head home,” Matt says, nodding towards his truck parked out front. “I told my mom I’d be there in the morning to help her move a couple of things out of the garage.” He explains. 

Gabby nods, doing her best to hide any disappointment. She would never admit it, but coming downstairs and finding Matt still asleep on the couch or sitting at the kitchen table with her parents had become something she really looked forward to, the blond boy fitting seamlessly into their lives. 

“But, we are still on for that hike tomorrow afternoon?” Matt asks, Gabby immediately perking up at his words, remembering the trail they had found outside the city and decided to go explore this weekend. 

“Of course.” She tells him, smiling gently. A beat of silence passes between them and Gabby nods towards his truck, the two of them walking slowly in its direction. “Let me know when you get home?” Gabby presses, and while it wasn’t an uncommon request, he knows she asks it not only to make sure he gets home safe but to ensure nothing went wrong once he was home. 

“I will, Gabs,” he assures. “I should be fine though, my Dad hasn’t been around for a few weeks now.” He tells her. 

Her brows knit in confusion. “Really?” She questions, and though she was aware he had not had any new stories to tell about his father, she wasn’t aware he simply had not been around at all. 

Matt nods, shrugging. “Really. He just went off again.” 

Gabby looks at him skeptically. “So, just like that? He is gone again?” She presses. 

Casey shrugs once more, the two of them stopping beside his truck. “Yup. It’s his normal. Here wreaking havoc one week, gone the next. Who knows with him, but I’ll take the peace and quiet while I can.” He says simply. 

Dawson nods at his words, feeling a relief settle through her bones. Before she can respond Matt is stepping off the sidewalk and to his driver side, climbing in and rolling the passenger side window down as Gabby steps up to it the two of them sharing soft smiles. 

“I had a lot of fun tonight.” Matt tells her before looking down, “All week, really.” He confesses. 

The brunette’s smile widens. “Me too, Matt,” She looks down at her jersey covered torso and laughs lightly. “I uh, I’ll get this back to you on Monday.”

Matt can’t help but smile, despite knowing he needed it back for the upcoming away game next Friday, he wanted nothing more than for her to keep it. Seeing Gabby Dawson in his jersey all day today definitely a highlight for him. 

“No worries.” He tells her, Casey putting the keys in the ignition and looking over at her. “I’ll see you around noon tomorrow?” He asks, “Or should I make it later?”

“Noon is fine, it’s not like I’ll be hungover.” She jokes lightly. 

Matt nods, but her words stick with him. It was something he had made note of all night. “Yeah, you didn’t drink at all tonight.” 

Gabby looks down, shrugging. “It’s no big deal.” She plays off and Matt knows he could just leave it alone, but he doesn't want to. He knows Gabby loves to have fun, and she loves a good party. It’s not lost on him that her lack of drinking tonight was for his benefit. 

“Gabby.” His voice pulls her attention, brown eyes meeting blue. “I appreciate what you did tonight, really, I do… more than you know.” He says softly, “...but you don’t have to change who you are on me. I like you just the way you are.” He tells her sincerely, “...I love who you are, Gabs. You don’t have to change.”

Gabby simply nods, the thick lump forming in her throat making any words impossible. Matt smiles softly, taking her nonverbal action as enough of a response. “Goodnight, Gabby.”

She takes a step back, waving him off. “Night, Matt.” She finally responds, watching as he pulls away.

“Too many.” Stella crosses her arms as Kelly locks the door behind them.

“What?”

“I’m  _ sleepy _ .” She looks up at the decently sized flight of stairs leading to the floor with her bedroom.

“Well you gotta go up there, monkey. You can’t sleep on the couch. Come on.” He offers his hand to her and she refuses. 

“No.”

“Seriously?”

Kelly isn’t sure if this is because she’s drunk, tired, spoiled, or all three, but it’s most likely the latter. Either way she doesn’t seem to be budging. He scratches his head in mild frustration.

“What do you want me to do, Stella?” His tiredness from the day’s events finally catching up to him.

But then her eyes are watering and all of his annoyance melts away.

“No, don’t- C’mere.” He sighs and pulls her close and immediately she relaxes into his chest. This gives him an idea and wordlessly he lifts Stella off of the ground. Gratitude flowing through him when she wraps her legs around his hips, he makes his way up the steps with ease.

By the time he gently lays her down in her bed her breathing is so even and face so peaceful he’s sure she’s asleep. Kelly grins, his heart swelling at the sight of her and the thoughts of how free she’d felt tonight. He leans down and pushes her hair back to give her a kiss on her forehead. The brief consideration of helping her change out of her seemingly uncomfortable uniform crosses his mind, but he dismisses it quickly considering how incapacitated she is. Besides, he could get used to the look of his girlfriend wearing his football jersey.

“Night monkey,” he says before heading to the doorway.

“Wait,” she mumbles, eyes still closed.

“Hm?”

“Stay?”

Kelly wonders in which way she means this. Based on the night’s previous events, it’s likely the very way in which he wouldn’t even consider when she’s in this state.

“Stella-”

His tone must have made this evident because she cuts him off.

“No, not  _ stay _ . Just stay, yeah?” 

Her words are still slurring together but the difference in the words is clear. This, he has no issue with and within moments the light is off, his shoes are on the ground, and he’s laying in the bed next to her.

“Too far,” she mutters, reaching out for him. He grabs her moving hand and interlocks their fingers. 

But that doesn’t seem to be enough because in the darkness she rolls on top of him, laying her head heavily on his chest as her hand reaches up to settle in his hair. Severide wraps his arms around her and sleep threatens to overtake him. Stella sighs, clearly reveling in their closeness. Kelly certainly isn't complaining, though, as the weight is far more comfortable than he’d thought it would be. Seconds before they both drift off, she says with contentedness,

  
  


“I love homecoming.”


End file.
